Indeed, this adapted African fable is a hopeful and stirring tale. The story begins when a farmer happens upon an eagle chick blown from its nest by the winds of a great storm. The well-intentioned farmer rescues the chick and raises it as a chicken.
Villagers watch in amusement as the maturing eagle continues to behave as a chicken.
When a visiting friend sees the confined eagle, he is determined to set it free. After two failed attempts, the farmer and his friend take the eagle to a distant mountaintop. Illustrator Niki Daly, who dedicates the book to the children of South Africa, uses watercolors that are broad, sweeping, and very detailed. Full of browns, greens, and oranges, the book feels earthy and warm. And, while the story itself describes few, if any, daily village activities, Daly's illustrations are sufficiently explicit, and children will gain a rudimentary sense of some traditional African architectural structures, textiles, and geography.