Eagle Drums: (Newbery Honor Book)

**A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK**

A magical middle grade adventure about a boy in the Arctic who faces a series of challenges presented to him by a family of eagle gods. Through this, he learns important lessons about respecting nature, building compassion, and bringing a community together. With beautifully hand-drawn full color art throughout!

As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping―the same mountain where his two older brothers died.

When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a powerful eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a choice: follow me or die like your brothers.

What comes next is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods and unexpected lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us.

Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is part cultural folklore, part origin myth about the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Arctic tradition that is still celebrated in times of bounty among the Iñupiaq. This story is based on the oral tradition of how Iñupiaq people were given the gift of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting connection. Hopson's full-page illustrations and spot art, rendered in colored pencil, accompany this memorable story.

Author: Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 09/12/2023
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 8.62h x 5.89w x 0.87d
ISBN: 9781250750655
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.3
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 550864 / Eagle Drums


Award: Newbery Medal - Honor Book
Award: American Indian Youth Literature Award - Honor Book


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2023
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2023
BookPage 09/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 10/02/2023
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2023 pg. 82
Booklist 11/01/2023 pg. 84
School Library Journal 12/08/2023 pg. 1
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2023 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Born and raised in Alaska, Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is a tribally enrolled Iñupiaq author and illustrator. She holds a BA degree in studio art from Humboldt State University and is a student of philosophy and marine biology. She's had several careers, including documentarian and school teacher, where her focus is always on reclaiming indigenous culture and creativity. She is the author of Eagle Drums.