Odd and the Frost Giants
Neil Gaiman
2009, 117 pages
Juvenile Fiction (grades 3-6)
On a cold March morning in Norway, a long time ago, 12-year-old Odd (yes, that is his name) ran, or rather, hobbled away from home. The name “Odd” was supposed to be a lucky name. But fatherless at the age of ten, crippled in an accident that same year, now living with a cruel stepfather and even meaner step-brothers and sisters, the boy was anything but lucky.
Furthermore, spring refused to come that March, making Odd’s unhappy family and, in fact, all the villagers, short-tempered and prone to fighting. Thus, Odd decided to leave home and set out on his own.
Odd soon met a fox, an enormous bear and an eagle. These were no ordinary animals – they could talk. Nor were they ordinary talking animals, for they were actually the Norse gods.
Tricked by the Frost Giants, the three were transformed into animals and banished from their kingdom. Now in power, the Frost Giants intended to turn the world into perpetual winter.
Odd and his three new companions set out to make things right. Can this clever boy and his unusual friends bring back spring? Will the three animals be restored to their true identities?
And what about Odd – will he ever find a place to call home?
Author Neil Gaiman, winner of the Newbery Medal for “The Graveyard Book,” has created a light David-and-Goliath-like adventure crossed with Norse mythology.
This short book will appeal to those who like to see the little guy win.
For more information about the library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net.
