Eagle Drums, by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 24, 2024 is Eagle Drums, by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson.

Eagle Drums was an Honor Book, in 2024, for the Newbery Medal and for the American Indian Youth Literature Award in its Middle Grade category. It is a magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition. 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 terrifying 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.
https://youtu.be/Sy-zjjEAP1E