Thorfinn and the Gruesome Games (Young Kelpies: Thorfinn the Nicest Viking)

A young Viking named Thorfinn is not very Viking-like. He’s very nice. He does not like sword fighting, he always apologizes, and he has a pet pigeon named Percy. He goes with Harold, his father, and his best friend, Velda, to the Gruesome Games, a competition about gross stuff. Some of the contests are belching, sword-fighting, and ax-throwing. The members of their team are all sick or injured, so Thorfinn and his friend have to compete in the games themselves. Thorfinn wins the swimming competition, and even saves the other competitor from drowning. His father, the village chief, has an arch nemesis that is competing in the games as well, named Magnus the Bone-Breaker. His father had a sword and shield that belonged together, and whoever owned them was chief of the village. Magnus stole the shield, and if he won the sword in the games, he would take over the village. Will Harold win in the games?

I like this book because it’s about a Viking who doesn’t act like a Viking. I like that he’s different. His pet pigeon wears a Viking helmet and usually carries a sword. That’s funny because you don’t see it every day. This is a chapter book with a lot of words, but when there are pictures, they’re really detailed. They are in black and white, and you get to imagine the colors yourself. Also, there are little cards in the back about four of the characters that you get to take out and keep. And, there’s a word search with words like gruesome, Vikings, and disgusting. I hope you’ll love this book as much as I did.