Alaska natives of the Aleutian Islands. Aleuts who lived in Unalaska on the Bering Sea. A book for children.
A PLEASURE TO READ...A review by Tessie L. Chapman, author of 'The Enchanted Island' and 'Guardians of the Enchanted Island'.
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Hello Hal
I am so impressed with your writing ability, and I am so proud to tell everyone how great of an author you are! You are one of the best storytellers I've known...your storybook is as beautiful as one of my favorite authors, Emily Rodda's. Yours and hers were just the same way on describing their characters, as if you had experienced it yourself the way you'd had described them through your book.
More power to you, Hal, and congratulations! I could picture a great movie out of this book in the near future.
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Author, Hal Granum has created a story that will increase your desire to read more. The author has a vivid imagination that will lure every reader to sink into their chair, and not wanting to put the book down until the very last page. The "The Great Eagle Spirit" will capture your imagination that somehow you will begin travelling along with Carl, the main character of the story, to face his mysterious adventures in the land of the great eagle. The descriptions of the characters and locations are truly amazing! I, myself, would honestly give this book a colorful five stars rating!!
Review: The Great Eagle Spirit by Hal Granum, PublishAmerica, released date sometime in 2006
I am the Great Eagle Spirit.
I came and took the golden threads
of the Unangam past
and re-united them
with their future.
Hal Granum seems to have taken a page from Michener’s epic novel, Alaska, and pared down the expansive scope of this massive tome into a very intimate and personal story of a young native Alaskan, thirteen year old Carl, and his incredible adventure which began as a terrifying ordeal at sea and ended up being the experience of a lifetime, or perhaps several lifetimes.
Granum has written an excellent adventure story for his selected audience of 10 to 14 year olds using a fast paced style that instantly engages the reader while relating the requisite background of the larger story, the history and hazardous future of the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, the Unangans. It is the rich and colorful historical accents in The Great Eagle Spirit that set this story apart from its contemporaries, and make it such a compelling read.
Carl and his closest friends, Alex and Aleena, are like adventuresome young people everywhere. Their youthful exuberance, healthy competitiveness and admirable loyalty to one another make them a trio “tweens” and early teens everywhere can easily identify with and with whom they can readily relate. It is Granum’s precise and intimate understanding of the young reader’s psychology that immediately explains this author's enormous appeal to this age group. Granum's book avoids the pitfalls of so many “educational novels” by relating an entirely entertaining and intriguing story while subtly providing the historical information that serves as its inspiration.
Carl’s brief sojourn into the past with the mysterious shaman, Altug, inspires him to recognize and appreciate his very special and, unfortunately, vanishing heritage. After reading The Great Eagle Spirirt, perhaps other youths will be motivated to investigate their own personal histories and have a better understanding and appreciation of who they are, where they came from and perhaps a better idea of where they want to direct their futures.
The Great Eagle Spirit is a very promising first effort by a gifted writer, Hal Granum. In light of all the recent publications extolling occultism, gore and violence specifically aimed at this very impressionable audience, it is a welcomed opportunity to introduce a genuinely exciting, wholesome adventure story that deserves a hearty reception and devoted readership.
Review by R. deVoll Fisher, author of Caleb’s Branch, Vol. I: An Incomplete Tale Of Unfinished Lives for Cheers E-zine, April 2006
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
The Great Eagle SpiriT By Hal Granum (Publish America, $14.95)
The blurb: "Join Carl, a 12-year-old boy living in Unalaska, as he is caught in a severe storm and washed up on a small, deserted island and is saved by Altug. Carl comes face to face with his ancestors and discovers he is an Unangnan, like the very first people to come to the islands centuries before."
Excerpt: "Through blurry eyes, he could see someone walking down the beach towards him. The closer the man came, the more uneasy Carl became. No one lived on this small, rocky island as far as he knew, and the man walking towards him looked ancient and dressed differently from anyone he had ever seen before. He wore sealskin clothes with a wooden visor on his head, which was decorated with sea shells and features."
