A tale rooted in Mongolian culture, in the heights of the Altaï. In Mongolia, Suren, daughter of the nomad chief, dreams of hunting with an eagle. Like her fellow men, but against her father’s will. As she rides in the mountain, her horse rears up. Injured and alone, Suren meets Bala, the royal eagle, and Kacip, the mysterious she-wolf. When her father finally finds her, Suren’s dream has changed. She then makes a surprising choice. By connecting the three main characters of this tale, the story approaches the lifestyle and the traditions of kazakh minorities, centred on eagle hunting, but also suggests the grasp of natural forces in their faiths and their relationship to shamanism, which worships the symbols of both the eagle and the wolf. The rebellious mind of young Suren is reminiscent of the tale of a young Mongolian girl, Ashol Pan, the first girl to practice the kazakh art of falconry. This story was adapted in a movie in April of 2017. The illustrations take a full part in the majesty of the landscapes and the atmosphere of mystery that the story is rooted into.
By Hélène Gloria and Delphine Labedan
24 x 24 cm – 32 pages
Award: Prix des Ecrins 2018