Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow

"Aisulu's family had always kept eagles: her oldest uncle had hunted with eagles, and her grandfather, and her great grandfather. Her people were nomads who moved with their hers across the mountains of Western Mongolia, and their life could be harsh. And yet it was glorious, and it was sweet, and it had eagles. ... In the fall they went to the Eagle Festival and came home with medals and honour."

"She did not look like an eagle hunter, in a dark thing with bright stitches. She did not look like a poor girl, with a small frame and chopped hair. She looked like something brand new. She looked like a hero. She looked as if she could stand on the sky."

Here are the opening scenes from Stand on the sky:

"There was no sign of Serik's horse. Aisulu and her brother, Serik, had searched for almost two hours ... Above them the sky was high and huge and bright, wheeled with birds."

"Serik stood with his head tipped back. He was watching the birds circling overhead. They were huge and black against the sky, a pair of golden eagles."

The pair of eagles are out collecting food for their newly hatched chicks. The children climb higher into the mountains looking for the lost horse but in the meantime a storm is gathering. A dangerous storm. Luckily, they find a stone shrine which gives them a place to shelter.

"Skerik was wearing a sweatshirt and a denim jacket and jeans and sneaker with the Velcro worn out. Aisulu's hand-me-down shapan was just corduroy and felt padding ... Neither of them was dressed well enough to survive a blizzard and they both knew that."

The children do survive and so do their horses but:

"Something was wrong. She looked down the northern slope. She saw the meadow blazing white, shadowless. Then she saw that scattered across the hard snow were birds. ... They were all dead. They were all dead, hundreds of them, scattered everywhere."

And among the dead birds the children see the golden eagle feeding on the little dead song birds. Sereik decides he can catch this eagle but as he attempts this he breaks his leg. Aisulu knows Sereik's secret. His leg is not just broken - he is unwell. Aisulu has to get her brother back to their camp. She knows she is leaving the eagle to die but what about those chicks?

You can read more plot details following links below but I really suggest reading this book first so you can let this engrossing story unfold as a wonderful reading experience. I will make special mention of one memorable character though - the wife of her Uncle Dulat - she is from a different ethnic group and is called Fox Wife. Her kindness towards Aisulu is a part of this story that lingers with me. Stand on the sky is another of the books I read on my recent holiday on a Kindle. 

On my flight while I read this book the airline kept showing an advertisement featuring footage from the documentary The Eagle Huntress. Just as aside I have no idea about the name of the bank even though I watched this advertisement multiple times on four different flights. It felt a little strange to be reading a book with the same setting and plot as the advertisement. At the time I did not know the ad was using footage from the documentary The Eagle Huntress (see images below). 

Publisher blurb: It goes against all tradition for Aisulu to train an eagle, for among the Kazakh nomads, only men can fly them. But everything changes when Aisulu discovers that her brother, Serik, has been concealing a bad limp that risks not just his future as the family's leader, but his life too. When her parents leave to seek a cure for Serik in a distant hospital, Aisulu finds herself living with her intimidating uncle and strange auntie — and secretly caring for an orphaned baby eagle. To save her brother and keep her family from having to leave their nomadic life behind forever, Aisulu must earn her eagle’s trust and fight for her right to soar. Along the way, she discovers that family are people who choose each other, home is a place you build, and hope is a thing with feathers.

In the interest of a balanced review please read these comments by Kirkus about this book and the involvement of women in eagle hunting. Putting this to one side, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Stand on the sky and I would put aside the issues of gender and just cheer Aisulu and her heroism to save and train this young eagle and her amazing courage to compete against older and more experienced hunters. 

As I mentioned you may have seen the 2016 movie documentary The Eagle Huntress - here are two images from the movie:

(This) is a story of strength, courage, and resilience that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt abandoned, alone, or doubted themselves and their place in the world. While researching the book, Bow spent a summer living with a Kazakh eagle hunter and his family and enlisted the help of Kazakh readers to ensure she got things right. Her writing is both lively and elegant, drawing the reader along on Aisulu’s quest and building toward the moment when she will learn if she has what it takes to be a true burkitshi. Bow delivers a jubilant tale that celebrates the power of family, love, and young women. Quill and Quire

Read this review for full details of the plot (warning this does contain spoilers)

Readers will love the relationship between Aisulu and her eagle Toktar. They will love the connection between girl and bird and reading about how the two learn together and grow together. It’s simply a beautiful story masterfully told, from beginning to end. Pamela Kramer

Ms Yingling also loved this book.

Here is a CBC interview with Erin Bow and audio interview when she ran the Governor General award. And here are some discussion questions. Read an extract from the book here. 

Awards for Stand on the sky:

• Winner, Governor General’s Award for Young People’s Literature — Text, 2019
• Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (Alberta Children’s Choice), 2021
• Short-listed, IODE Canada Violet Downey Award, 2020
• Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, 2020
• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, 2019
• Commended, OLA Best Bets, 2019

Companion book:

Running on the roof of the world

Here is a previous book by Erin Bow that I really enjoyed:

Simon sort of Says

When Jays fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson illustrated by Victor G Ambrus

"The whole of Continental Europe was now in the hands of the Germans. Little Denmark had been completely over-run. The Dutch army had surrendered. France had collapsed. Now only Britain remained as the last block against Hitler's dreams to complete European conquest. It left little scope for optimism. We realized that we were a small nation of relatively few people. How could we fight back against the powerful monster that had overtaken us?"


Several years ago a friend mentioned When Jays fly to Barbmo was one of her all time favourite books. I was curious. Then I made some discoveries.  This book was the 1969 CBCA Book of the Year. I was in Primary school when it won and this was a time I devoured books set in Northern countries such as Avalanche by A Rutgers van der Loeff. Why had I never heard of this book? Luckily I found a mint condition second hand copy a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend I sat down and read the whole book in two sessions.

Let's begin with the title.  Here is a jay in the snow in Norway.

Jays fly (migrate) - no as you can see this bird species does not migrate - well as far as I can discover. You can see it here in this photo in the snow. I guess in a simple way the title means "when pigs might fly".  The place Barbmo is explained in a glossary at the back of this book "In north Lapp this word has two meanings (i) the place where migratory birds live in winter and (ii) a place of fictitious delights."

The little bird is also a gift given to Ingeborg by a reclusive man who works for her father.  He loves to carve and he gives her a little wooden jay. She keeps it safe through all the twists and turns of these confusing times.

The setting for this book is Norway World War II. Norway is invaded by Hitler and Ingeborg's life is in turmoil. Adding to this terror are the seasonal hardships of living in this remote location. Living so far north means there are months of 24 hour darkness and months of 24 hours daylight.

"Morning was no different from night. ... if the weather continued to show a cloudless face all morning, we were at least assured of a period of struggling grey dawn round about noon. ... Then everybody would give thanks and we would all, little by little, start airing our summer personalities again."

"One morning I chanced upon a small yellow flower thrusting its head bravely above the snow. I plucked the bloom gently and turned it over again and again in my hand marvelling as I always did, at how a life so infinitely fragile could have survived the cruel grip of our Arctic winter and be born a thing of such exquisite perfection."

Ingeborg needs to understand her heritage, understand the complex relationships of the people in her life and move from her childhood into the beginning of adulthood. Here is a detailed review where you can read more plot details. This is a book for an older/junior high school, sensitive reader with stamina. The print size is small and the historical setting, while beautifully described, will be unfamiliar to most Australian children. The illustrations by the famous Victor G Ambrus are wonderful. Here is a copy of the original review in the Canberra Times from July 1969.  If you are looking for a similar title you could take a look at Belle and Sebastien. The relationship between Ingeborg and her Aunt reminded me of Inge Maria in The Girl who Bought Mischief.