Julie and the Eagles

After finding a baby owl in the park, Julie and Ivy give it to a local wildlife rescue center. There, Julie meets Robin Young, a graduate student at Berkeley, and four beautiful eagles: Shasta, Sierra, and their two eaglets. Shasta has an injured wing and cannot be released back into the wild until he recuperates, but if the center doesn't raise enough money soon, the eagles will become too dependent upon their human caretakers to ever be released. Though Julie enjoys hanging out with Robin and helping feed the baby eagles, she wants to do something more. After her teacher brings up Earth Day, Julie eagerly tells her class all about her feathered friends. Before she knows it, Project SAVE - Save All Vanishing Eagles - has taken flight. On Earth Day, she and her classmates set up booths at Golden Gate Park to help raise awareness and money for the center and for the eagles. The event is a huge success, but they still don't make enough money to create a new habitat for the eagles. Some more quick thinking and unexpected visitors help them make their goal - just in time for Julie's tenth birthday. This is the fourth American Girls book about Julie Albright, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated beautifully by Robert Hunt. (Look at the detail on the characters' clothing and check out the wingspan of those eagles!) This story will teach young readers about eagles, Earth Day, conservation, and endangered species, and it will definitely inspire readers to take a look at the world around them and get active in their schools and communities. Let's celebrate Earth Day every day!

In a world of broken-down, drug-addicted teen stars and pop princesses with tarnished crowns, it is refreshing to read a book about a young girl with strong moral fortitude and solid goals. Julie Albright, the latest American Girl, is a ten year old girl living in 1970s San Francisco. In the first book, Meet Julie, we learn that her parents have recently divorced, forcing Julie and her sister to move away from their friends, father, and family home. We also learn that Julie is a quietly determined girl who cares deeply about those near to her and the issues that are dear to her. In Julie and the Eagles, Julie and her best friend, Ivy Ling find a baby owl in a local park and learn that the choices America has made to modernize and advance themselves technologically have had big effects on the environment. Soon, Julie hatches a plan to help save two eagles and their hatchling. Why I love Julie and the Eagles: This book tells the story of a compassionate, intelligent young girl living in a time of great change, yet it never preaches or attempts to make the reader feel guilty. I love that American Girl seems to be committed to addressing the concerns of young women living in the world today by giving them identifiable characters who are faced with similar challenges. It's not enough to tell a young girl that she should have goals and stay out of trouble. I love that American Girl, with these Julie books, actually shows girls how they can stay out of trouble by caring about something greater than themselves. In a world of sad, broken-down Britney's and troubled, unlovely Lyndsey's, it's nice to have a Julie to introduce my daughter to!

This is the fourth book in the 'Julie' series from American Girl. I am an adult who works at AG, but that doesn't influence my opinions on the books. It just makes it easy for me to read them. I thought this book, in particular, was great. I was born two years after the fictional character Julie, so my experiences are very similar to hers. I loved the 70's references in the book and thought they were very accurate. The author does a great job of slipping educational bits into all the 'Julie' books and they're still very entertaining. This book focuses on environmental awareness. Julie finds an abandoned, sick owl in the park, and when she takes it to an animal rescue facility, she meets two eagles, Shasta and Sierra, and their baby. Shasta is recovering from an injured wing. She learns that if the eagles are not released into the wild soon, they won't ever be able to go back and will have to live in a zoo. The problem is, the center doesn't have the money needed to accomplish an eagle release. Julie gets her family and class involved and starts a fund-raiser to save the eagles. At the end of each book in the series, there is a section telling real events that happened during the time the book takes place. This one has nice information about how new laws were passed in the 70's banning DDT and how laws were put in place to make sure animal habitats wouldn't be disturbed before new building takes place. This is a great book for children 7 and up. I recommend the whole series.