Eagle Song by Joseph Bruchac

This book is about a boy, Danny Bigtree, who is an Iroquois Indian. He has just moved from the reservation to Brooklyn, NY and is having difficulty making friends, most kids make fun of him while others just ignore him. This book is from Danny's perspective and follows him through days at school and family situations. The author does a great job of making you feel what Danny is actually going through. I chose this book to read because I felt I could connect with it since I am partially (very little) Cherokee Indian and I have always been drawn to learn more and read things related to Native Americans. I didn't really connect to Danny because he is Indian but I connected to Danny because he is picked on everyday and doesn't fit in. As I was reading I found myself thinking how I know how Danny feels because I had been in that very same situation. The author brings a good message with this book. The author shows that even though someone is different, they still have a lot to offer and can make a great friend. I believe this is good for students to read and I would like to have it in my future classroom. I believe a student can connect with it in the way that I did and it may be able to help the through a struggle, or to feel that they are not alone. I also feel this would be a good book for the student that might be a bully. They may be able to connect with it and see that their bullying is actually affecting someone. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for ages 9+.