Description
During WWII, Jed’s English father serves as a fighter pilot overseas, while Jed and his mother move back to her Tsimshian community on Canada's west coast. When the military sets up a naval base in town, Jed is hired to help out, honored it seems, for both his father's bravery and his own native skills as a hunter. Presented with a military jacket, Jed finds an allegiance to his country and a pride in his mixed heritage that he's never felt before.
But one day Jed's world is shattered. His best friend Tadashi, along with the other members of the nearby Japanese village, are declared enemy aliens and told to prepare to leave their homes. Now Jed must ask himself where his allegiance really belongs…to his country's rigid code, or to the truth that is buried in his Tsimshian soul.
War of the Eagles is the first of two books in a series.
Book two is Caged Eagles.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 12
- Grade:
- 8 to 12
- Reading age:
- 12
Awards
- , Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards - Snow Willow
- , Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards
- Commended, New York Public Library (NYPL) - Books for the Teen Age
- Winner, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards - Children’s Picture Book
- Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Our Choice
- Short-listed, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
- Short-listed, The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award
- Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (RMBA)
- , Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
- Commended, American Booksellers Association (ABA) Pick List
- Commended, Canadian Library Association (CLA) Book of the Year for Children - Honour Book
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Annotations
Librarian review
War of the Eagles
This novel, set in Prince Rupert, BC during the time of World War II, explores the feelings of fourteen-year-old Jed Blackburn as he struggles to understand his Aboriginal heritage and accept his country’s treatment of Japanese-Canadians following the bombing of Pearl Harbour. When Jed’s father goes to England to serve as a fighter pilot, Jed returns with his mother to her Haida village and they both become employed at a newly set up naval base. Through Jed’s interactions with Aboriginal people, the Japanese community, military personnel and an injured eagle, the author brings readers face to face with matters relating to racism, respect for various cultures, the value of human dignity and the challenges of self-discovery.
Other works by Eric Walters include Stand Your Ground, Stars, and Trapped in Ice. He has won the Silver Birch and Blue Heron Awards. This title won the Ruth Schwartz Award.
Caution: Racist references reflect the historical time period.
Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2007-2008.
