Eagle Boy (Kelpies) by Rodney Bennett - 1988

Dutton Childrens Books, 1989. Hardcover. Used: Acceptable. In this unusual fantasy, Stephan, lame since birth and mute, is befriended by a golden eagle. The eagle finds Stephan in the cave where his parents hid him when his life was endangered by a rumor that his infirmities marked him as a child of the devil and thus responsible for widespread crop failures in their medieval village. Life in the eyrie is risky but free, and in sharp contrast to the poverty-stricken life of the village. Stephan grows strong, and becomes like the great bird, wild and untamed as they fly together over the mountains. When he outgrows the nest, he is left with a kindly hermit who tries to civilize him and teach him to speak. Although he has no memory of his parents, he returns to the village to help them when he learns they are in danger. With the eagle's help, he saves his father's life and kills those responsible for the villagers' misery. Used to the freedom of life in the wild, he returns to live with… Read More