Odd and the Frost Giants
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Author: Neil Gaiman
- Artist: Brett Helquist
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- Release Date: November 2009
- Reading Level: Ages 9-12
- ISBN-10: 0061671738
- ISBN-13: 9780061671739
- List Price: $14.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryIn this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back. In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy. Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell. Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it. It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter. Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever . . . Someone just like Odd . |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
A Wonderful Tale Destined to be a Classic
Rating:
This is a wonderful, quick read, by one of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman.
The story is about a lonely boy named Odd, who lost his Viking father and his mother who was "stolen" by his father from her native Scotland. Odd tries to make it on his own by living up to his father's mythical image only to be crippled in an accident which forces his mother to get re-married.
Needless to say Odd's stature in the new house is not very high.
Odd runs away to his old house, only to encounter Norse gods in the form of a bear (Thor), an eagle (Odin) and a fox (Loki). Turns out they were outsmarted by the frost giants and thrown out of Asgad. On his quest to help the gods and save his people from ultimate starvation in the endless winter Odd learns about himself, his family and how to handle the curve ball thrown at all of us during our lifetime.
A good point to take away from this story
The book is written funny and simply so a pre-teen child can understand it (the recommended age of 9 -12 is perfect), the story telling is masterful, the pace is perfect, and the read is entertaining to young and old alike.
It seemed good at first
Rating: 
As an adult, I found the book interesting as a new take of the tales of Norse mythology, until I realized that there was something not quite right about this story.
I had the fortune to watch the movie Up and read Odd and the Frost Giants on the same day. Up is an example of a good story, based on a character that endured setbacks during the course of his life and had to endure a few more lessons at the end to reach his lifelong goal. Odd is a strange boy with a strange smile that infuriates people. What's to like about such a boy. He went to the woods with his father's axe that was too big and cut down a tree that was too big and crushed his leg. How can you feel sorry for such a boy. He runs away from home. Big deal. He meets some not so intelligent Norse gods in animal form. How did they get in animal form, because they were drunk and not so intelligent.
And as for Odd outsmarting the Frost Giant by simply talking to him about why he wanted to rule Asgard in the first place was simply a let down.
What's a child supposed to take away from this story...have an infuriating smile, wander out into the woods to crush your own leg, how to out think some not so intelligent gods/grownups?
Fantastic by Gaiman - again again and again
Rating:
Short review of Gaimans latest book: Odd and the Frost Giants: This is
a short story for children, and the story plays out in old Norway. The
norwegian viking-lad Odd runs away from his home to his late fathers
cabin in the woods. He meets a eagle with one eye, a grumpy bear and a
fox. Together they travel from Midgard to ...the world of northern Gods,
Asgard. Even though this is a childrens book, a Gaiman-fan wil cherish
this book regardlessly. Its a fantastisc good and well written book. I
fully enjoyed it from page one. You will to!
Reviews from Brizmus Blogs Books
Rating:
This short story for children is basically everything I love about Neil Gaiman broken down into a quick 90 pages. The writing is fun and fluid with a knack for description that leaves just enough up to the imagination. The way he weaves the Norse Gods into his story is fun, exciting, and realistic. It gives just a little taste of what the Norse Gods are like, thus invoking curiosity about them in any reader (and what a better way to learn more about them than to go read Neil Gaimain's other books - American Gods, to be specific!) - which I think is exactly what is needed in a children's book. Any book that makes kids curious and inspires them to learn gets an A+ in my book.
In general, I find that Gaiman does adult novels and comics better than he does children's books. At least, I used to feel that way until the awesomeness of the Graveyard Book. This book aims at a younger audience than that of the graveyard book and still manages to be fantastic for an adult audience.
With Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman shows that he is, indeed, able to take the awesomeness of his ideas and make them accessible to children. And yet, through it all, he throws in the occasional reference that children may not understand (and don't need to understand to appreciate the book) but that leave the adult riveted through the entire epic journey.
All in all, this book ends up being the perfect read for a mother or father to read to their child. Or for a child just getting into books. Or for an adult with a quick half hour in the waiting room.
It was just wonderful.
I don't think any more needs to be said. :-)
An enjoyable take on the Norse myths
Rating:
I found this book to be a very entertaining take on the Norse myths. The book would make a good follow-up to a kid's introduction to the myths found in Mary Pope Osbourne's excellent Favorite Norse Myths. The story and illustrations are both great. I look forward to more tales about Odd's adventures!
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