David MacPhail

Thorfinn and the Gruesome Games' by David MacPhail is a fun book for young readers with a lesson about being yourself when everyone around you is trying to make you conform.

Young Thorfinn is the nicest Viking in his village, maybe in history. Harald the Skull-splitter, his father and leader of the village, has a problem with. He wants his son to be fierce, especially since the village is heading to the Gruesome Games, and he wants to win his shield back. Harald finds a tutor, his friend Velda, for Thorfinn to learn fierceness from, but it just doesn't work. Harald has other problems since his rival chieftain will be there and a couple of his best competitors are mysteriously out of the contest. Can Harald get his beloved shield back? Will Thorfinn learn to be a fierce Viking and be less nice? Harald the Skull-Splitter turns to his second team, which includes Thorfinn, Oswald, and Velda. They end up saving the day, and Thorfinn makes a new friend in Osric the Brick-Swallower who, as it turns out, never wanted to play the role of bad guy and has been mistreated by his father.

This book is a great one to read when talking about acceptance of others, sportmanship, cheating, bullying and even when studying The Vikings. I think this book should be in elementary school libraries as well as classroom libraries. Children will smile and get the lessons without being hit over the head with them.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)