Little Eagle

This book was a story I probably would not have just chosen off of the book shelf. I am glad that we have to look at different multicultural authors because this story would have quite an impact on students. It tells the story of Master Yang who saved a little boy from dying in the snow. The little boy lost both of his parents to the cruel leader and he was orphaned. Master Yang and his eagle took the little boy in. One night, the little boy saw Master Yang doing Eagle boxing. From that night forward, he would watch Master Yang and practice every move until he knew them by heart. The little boy thought it would be a good idea to use these new Eagle boxing skills to ward off bullies, but this angered Master Yang. But seeing his potential, were after performing a Buddhist ritual, the little boy promised to perfect his new skill. Master Yang named him Little Eagle. After a long and evolved process of perfecting his Eagle boxing, it came time for Master Yang and Little Eagle to take on General Zhao, the cruel leader. Zhao fatally injured Master Yang and before he died, he fully passed on the secrets of Eagle boxing to Little Eagle.

I really enjoyed how this story began on the first page of the entire book. Even before the title page, we knew that China was dealing with a treacherous and cruel leader. This page also introduced Master Yang. This makes an audience prepare and begin to predict on what is going to happen in this story. A common piece of the illustration is the eagle. It appears in every page of the book. I would want my students to reflect on why they think the eagle is in every illustration and what the eagle is supposed to represent. I really like how the Chinese culture is portrayed through the book. It talks about their religion, Buddhism, and some of the ritual ceremonies that occur. This book really made me interested in the Chinese culture and made me have a new respect for their diversity.

Little Eagle

Author: Chen Jiang Hong

Year Published: 2007