The True Story of the Girl Who Soared Beyond Expectations
February 1, 2020
Gr 5-8-Sixteen-year-old Nurgaiv came from a Kazakh/Mongolian family with a tradition of hunting with eagles, a custom handed from father to son for generations. But cultural expectations demanded that girls stay at home. Nurgaiv, who had an affinity for eagles, was not content with that role. She convinced her father, mother, and grandfather to let her try to become an eagle huntress. First, she was required to capture her own eaglet, and then raise and train it carefully. It was an arduous task, but Nurgaiv loved it, and loved her eaglet, White Feathers. Within a remarkably short period of time, she not only entered the 2014 Golden Eagle Festival competition, but actually won it. Told in her own words, Nurgaiv's love for her family, her culture, and her eagle is expressed clearly. Her nomad life, its primary mode of transportation by horse or camel, is described affectionately in detail. Readers may be surprised that in the 21st century, Nurgaiv has never heard of pizza or toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as other things considered common to young readers. This glimpse into another culture would do well paired with the documentary to spark discussion on multiple levels. VERDICT Recommended for middle grade collections, especially for biography sections focusing on female empowerment.-Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
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March 1, 2020
The Mongolian teen whose surprising 2014 win at the Golden Eagle Festival was charted in a 2016 documentary retells the story, expanding on her family's nomadic Kazakh culture and the changes success has brought. Nurgaiv's grandfather and others secretly maintained the ancient Kazakh tradition of hunting with eagles, banned in Soviet-era Mongolia, teaching it to their sons. Watching their father teach her brother, Nurgaiv--calm, competitive, athletic--longed to learn herself. Nine years younger, born after many failed pregnancies, she was literally raised with eagles. She relates how she persuaded her parents, found her eaglet, trained and hunted with her, and entered and won the competition. Interwoven with this account is the story of a changing Mongolia amid a changing world. Before Nurgaiv's training began, tourists--trekkers, journalists, photographers, a filmmaker--came to observe her family, whose livelihood derived in part from their visits. Each milestone on Nurgaiv's eagle-huntress journey has been documented and shaped, as here, for an audience of outsiders. (Responding to past critiques, Nurgaiv here acknowledges that women eagle hunters competed in Kazakhstan before she did and downplays male opposition she faced.) Mediated by Welch and in translation, Nurgaiv's voice is inconsistent. While expressions of clich�d adolescent excitement over her celebrity status feel somewhat manufactured, Nurgaiv's love for and pride in her homeland, culture, and family come through with quiet, persuasive power. An intriguing memoir from a girl who's become a cultural icon. (glossary) (Memoir. 8-12)
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March 15, 2020
Grades 4-8 The nomadic Kazakhs in Mongolia are guided by the rhythms of the seasons, but their love of family and animals defines their way of life. Aisholpan Nurgaiv was born into such a family. Even as a toddler, her love and respect for her father's hunting eagle was apparent. At 13, she entered and won the Golden Eagle Festival competition with her father's eagle, becoming the first female huntress in seven generations of her family. With the help of Welch, Nurgaiv describes her family and their devotion to the eagles they train and use in their hunts. Her story will effortlessly bring children into her world and introduce them to her treasured traditions. Though her culture and upbringing will be very different from that of the average reader, they will connect with Nurgaiv's young age and pursuit of her passion. Further reading suggestions and a Kazakh glossary offer additional insight into Kazakh culture. A great stand-alone or companion to the documentary film The Eagle Huntress.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)