EAGLE DRUMS

Narrator Irene Bedard--who is of Iñupiaq, Yu'pik, Cree, and French Canadian heritage--brings vocal authenticity to Iñupiaq author/illustrator Nasugraq Rainey Hopson's debut novel. When a boy is kidnapped by a golden eagle who turns into a man, he is challenged to live, rather than die like his two older brothers. Adopting the sonorous delivery of an oral storyteller, Bedard catches listeners up in the boy's terror and determination as he learns the eagle's complicated songs and dances and then goes back to the tundra to bring all its people together for a great feast. (Listeners curious about the story's traditional origins can read further in the print edition's author's note.) The particulars of Arctic life ground the boy's supernatural adventure, welcoming listeners into his world. V.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2023]