Powerful, moving, relevant.
A compendium of Norse tales from the age of the Vikings.
In ninth-to-11th-century Scandinavia, the world was, to the humans who inhabited it, a place full of spirits, gods, trolls, giants, and dwarves. Midgard (“Middle Earth”), where humans lived, was also home to giants and dwarves and a place where spirits of the uneasy dead walked. The gods lived in Asgard, above Midgard, and occasionally came to visit Midgard by way of a three-strand rainbow bridge. The five tales gathered here, mostly from Iceland, have a powerful, unadorned way of going, reflecting the subsistence lives of the people who created them as a way to make sense of their often capricious existence. A mother and father implore the gods for help to save their daughter from a troll. A human girl is given the gift of flax by the goddess Frigg, wife of Odin, the Allfather. While the archaic details may be unfamiliar, the basic essence of the human condition comes through loud and clear—and comfortingly. With each story, readers will realize both the close connection the people felt with the natural world and how deeply they lived their spare and forceful existence. Equally spare and forceful are the masterful illustrations. Silhouette spots are interspersed with dramatic, limited-color double-page spreads that show off and deepen the narrative, sometimes portraying harsh, raw, and even frightening scenes, sometimes gentle and illuminating ones; each is a tour de force of design and execution.
Powerful, moving, relevant. (Traditional literature. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1771-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Breathtaking dragon battles peppered with musings on forgiveness, teamwork, and love.
Lunar Jones joins other planetary guardians to unravel clues from Proteus and save the solar system in this third series entry.
Lunar, a 15-year-old dragoon, is known far and wide and regarded as a hero on Mars, but his personal life contains tension. He’s bonded for life with Dread, the savvy war strategist King-Dragon of Mars, but the Dread Knights are leaving one by one to pursue other opportunities. Though he’s unhappy about this, Lunar doesn’t try to hold them back. Sorting out his feelings for Rose Proctor is another can of worms. Plus he’s preparing for the upcoming Solar Summit, which is held by the planetary dragons once every 500 years. Reminiscent of a dragon family reunion, the summit includes equal measures of information exchange, camaraderie, and squabbles, but the appearance of a shape-shifting Fear Dragon brings everyone to laser-focused attention as they rally against a monstrous unseen enemy. Lunar’s first-person narration presents him variously as an awkward teen, pep-talking mentor, and battle-savvy commander. The dragon battles rock, innovations abound, and the Proteus messages tantalizingly reveal themselves right up until the cliffhanger ending. Names and skin tones cue some ethnic and racial diversity among the smart, strong teenage crew members surrounding the white-presenting Lunar. Knowledge of the previous books is essential to fully appreciate this volume, which explores characters and situations from earlier entries; a prologue introduces the formidable new characters Doom and Gloom.
Breathtaking dragon battles peppered with musings on forgiveness, teamwork, and love. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781665982016
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Brilliant.
Young heroes rise to the challenge of protecting their home, family, and world when a new villain threatens the Glimouria Archipelago and the Immortal in this third series entry.
“New trouble” comes to the sanctuary of Glimt when Irian Guinne is kidnapped and Teren, the young Immortal, is threatened. Christopher Forrester, former princess Anya, jaculus dragon Jacques, and ratatoska navigator Ratwin undertake a series of herculean tasks to fulfill the kidnappers’ demands and free Irian, all without Nighthand’s knowledge or help. Christopher seeks knowledge from Naravirala the sphinx to understand his new, deeper connection to creatures (“It is the people you love who anchor you”), while Anya leans into her warrior nature (“What if I was born to be brave?”). Meanwhile, bandits with ouroboros bracelets pillage and burn across the Archipelago at the command of Astor Morax, and a fearsome tiger spies through mirrors. The white-presenting leads’ quest to save Irian is central, but brief sections visit Irian, Nighthand, and beautiful, deadly Carla Venasque. The climactic Battle of Glimt features ferocity, cleverness, sacrifice, and bravery, and the ending is more Shakespearean comedy than tragedy—but the danger to Teren is not over, leaving eager readers to await the fourth installment. This is a perfectly paced, mythology-laced tale of action, adventure, and heart that reminds readers that “the only thing stronger than fear is love, unceasingly and exultantly given.” Final art not seen.
Brilliant. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780593809945
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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