book cover

Leif the Unlucky Viking: Saga of the Shooting Star

by Gary Northfield

Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 8+

Published by Walker Books, 2023

  • Adventure
  • Chapter books
  • Funny
  • Historical
  • Myths and legends

About this book

Leif is an enthusiastic Viking wolf pup, who is desperate to be a brave warrior, just like his dad, Erik the Red. However, misfortune seems to follow Leif, and if he’s not splitting his trousers or toppling off ladders, he’s falling down holes or getting lost.

Determined to prove his worth, Leif embarks on a secret mission to locate a missing shard from Thor’s hammer, which has landed far away in polar bear territory. Thorbjorg the Witch provides him with a map of the route and a magic cloak. The hapless pup sets off on his quest, accompanied by fellow adventurers Olaf the duck, Toki the puffin and Flora the stinky musk ox. As they attempt to navigate across vast, dangerous lands, they must contend with hungry giants, fearsome polar bears and a sea beast as old as the gods themselves.

This hilarious Viking adventure has oodles of laughs on every page. The dynamic black-and-white illustrations are full of humour and there is a fun board game to play in the middle of the story. An informative glossary and some interesting Viking facts can be found at the end of the book.

About the author

Gary was born in Romford, Essex in June 1969. He moved to Norfolk when he was two, where he then spent most of his childhood and the bug for writing and drawing funny stories evolved. Gary graduated from college with a degree in illustration. After graduation he worked in an art shop for a few years during which time he discovered the hidden world of small press (home-made) comics. Finally Gary took the plunge with his own comics in 1999. He acquired the position of ‘in-house illustrator’ at Eaglemoss Publications in 2002, working on magazines such as Horrible Histories and The Magical World of Roald Dahl. Gary has been writing and drawing Derek the Sheep for DC Thomson’s The Beano since late 2003.

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