The Enchantment of Gold Eagle by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Title: The Enchantment of Gold Eagle

Author: Margaret Wild, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 1^st July 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: A powerful tale about a child, a golden eagle and a forgotten promise from the author of the children’s classic Fox, illustrated by the beloved creator of Mutt Dog.

One day, Ella and her little brother Leif found a fledgling with a broken wing. They took him home, wrapped and fed him, and watched over him for seven days and seven nights.

In time Golden Eagle was well enough to fly away, but he loved the children, so he promised to stay with them at the edge of the dark forest.

Until one day, the wind whispered and the breeze caressed his feathers, and Golden Eagle forgot his promise…

An unforgettable tale about love, nature and forgiveness, suitable for readers of Fox or The Duck and the Darklings from two of Australia’s most-celebrated picture book creators.

~*~

Ella and Lief live in a little village with their father, and one day, they find a fledgling gold eagle. They spent time caring for him with their father – seven days and seven nights. And Golden Eagle is ready to fly away – but promises to stay…until the sky calls to him, the wind whispers and he flies away, forgetting his promise. The children are distraught, and their father has gone away for a while. Golden Eagle returns, but the scared children send him away again. But will they be able to forgive him?

The new book from Margaret Wild is set in what feels like a distant island, a distant time and place that could be an island near Denmark or Norway. Centring the story on this little family was beautiful, showing how they live, are connected to each other and where they live, worked well to show a tiny slice of the world they live in. Many picture books do this – take a tiny slice of the world, of what people experience or know, and focus on that for the story. It’s a gentle story, one that is filled with big emotions and fabulous eagles that long to take to the sky.

The story is aimed at all readers, all levels, because this is a book that can be read to children or read alone. Everything in this book has something to offer every reader, and has a gentle message about the joy in the simple things. About caring for nature and making sure it survives and thrives, so birds like Golden Eagle can live, can become part of their world again and thrive where they were meant to thrive. It also shows that caring for nature is lovely and doable, even in small ways. Everyone can try and do something to help nature. It’s also about forgiveness, and realising that everyone has a different journey and life. We all travel different paths, and the fact that Golden Eagle does as well is a good reminder that some things are only temporary. Things might come back to us as well. We just have to be patient.

Margaret’s story is accompanied by Stephen Michael King’s fabulous illustrations of the world Lief and Ella live in, the images of Golden Eagle and his endless flight and everything else in between. As with all picture books, the words and images work together to create and enhance the story, or bring the story life. The illustrations in this book do both. This is a gentle book that reminds us about forgiveness and letting go, and loving what you have in life.