Asha and the Spirit Bird

My 13 year old daughter really enjoyed Asha and the Spirit Bird! She has always been a fan of mystical, spiritual and cultural themes, so this book was right up her alley! Asha and the Spirit Bird touches on many important themes including family, friendship, perseverance, and culture. At times it was reminiscent of Moana. My daughter enjoyed learning some Hindi and Punjabi words, there is a glossary of some of the more frequently used words in the book. Asha is trying to sort out her families money troubles and keep them together in their homeland, while still holding on to, and learning from, her past. Asha and her best friend embark on an epic journey to find Asha's father and bring him home. Along their journey through the foothills of the Himalayas, they are guided by a Bearded Vulture that is the reincarnation of Asha's grand mother. Asha and the Spirit Bird is a great book for exposing your child to pieces of Hindu culture in an interesting and adventuresome way. All in all, a well written book my daughter enjoyed and we look forward more works from Jasbinder Bilan.

This is a super cute children’s/middle grade story that takes you on a journey that ends the way it should.
Asha and her mother live on a family farm in rural India. The farm is set in the foothills of the Himalayas. For Asha life is just about as good as it gets but her father isn’t there with the rest of them. He is off working at a factory in the big city, far from the farm, where he has to go in order to make money. He sends them money every chance he gets.
One day, however, Asha comes home to find her mother being harassed by thugs, ruthless lenders, who she owes money to. Asha learns that it has been four months since her fathers last letter with money in it. Asha’s mother had to deal with the money lenders in order to keep the farm afloat. Now, the entire farm and everything Asha has come to know and love is threatened.
Asha is determined to save her home. She and her best friend decide to set out on a long and dangerous journey to find her father. They head out across the Himalayas and find themselves in all sorts of situations including natural disasters, law enforcement, and everything you find out in the wild. With the help of a very special bird and a green eyed tiger as her guides, she believes these to be the spirits of her ancestors, she and her friend are determined to see it through and save Asha’s family.
This is really cute with the type of ending that you would expect from a book for children in this age group. There are certain things the kids do along the way that are things you really don’t want your own children doing, even if it works out for them. Still, for the most part this is a fantastic story, well written, and one that should be read and enjoyed!

Asha and the Spirit Bird is a wonderful middle grade adventure story about a young girl on a journey to reunite her family.

When debt collectors come crashing through their small Himalayan farmhouse, Asha knows her mama and their family is in trouble. Her Papa left for the city months ago but stopped writing and sending money - where could he be? Is he alive?

With the help of her best friend, Jeevan, she runs away to find her father. Asha is a terrifically brave little girl, with the magic power to sense and be guided by her ancestors. I loved the Nanijee storyline, and how Asha learned to trust herself as well as embrace her family's heritage.

There is plenty of danger and action! I read the whole book in one sitting and think that kids will definitely enjoy this one from cover to cover.

With clean content, this is a great story of friendship, faith, and family, set in rural India. Fully recommend for any young reader!

This was an enjoyable book. It's not the most gripping story, but it's got magic, adventure, and friendship- old good elements for a older children's book. The story is about Asha, an 11yr old girl who runs away from home with her best friend in order to find her father.

The one thing I didn't like was the way Asha viewed and treated her mother. She was very disrespectful and angry at her for making responsible adult decisions. I kept expecting that Asha would eventually grow throughout the story and learn to understand her mom's point of view, but she never did.

I couldn't enjoy the story because it's written in first person and present tense--neither of which I like, though I've enjoyed some stories written that way--but they were very good. I didn't care for the characters and the plot wasn't as magical as it could have been--and Asha didn't seem to have matured enough by the end... .And it wasn't as believable with the finding and rescues of her father.