Book 1 in the very funny new series, Dagfrid Viking Girl!
Many things bother Dagfrid. Her name, for starters. And life as a viking girl isn’t exactly a piece of cake: you have rolled-up braids, like buns, on your ears, you wear dresses that are too long to run with, and you dry fish. In fact, fish is all you eat, even when you’re not a girl. But girls, they can’t even navigate and go explore America. Well, until now. Because Dagfrid is really sick of dried fish.
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated by Nanette McGuinness
Information
ISBN
978-1-64690-805-9
Price Canada
$9.00
Pages
48
is available
Date of Publication
April 04, 2023
Reviews
In this fast-moving parody of Viking life, written in brief chapters by French author Mathieu-Daudé, young Dagfrid rebels against a Viking girl’s traditional role: the hairstyle (long blond braids rolled “as if you had buns growing out of your ears”), the “superlong dress that traps your legs,” and learning to dry fish (“I hate fish”). She wears her braids long and sews herself a pair of pants, but the only solution to the fish problem is to set sail in a small boat in search of more promising food. The island she encounters is already inhabited by girls with strong opinions of their own: “What’s up with your hairdo, for starters?” They herd (and tire of eating) sheep, a species Dagfrid has never seen but which offers, at last, a solution to the fish problem.
McGuinness’s translation renders the story’s laughs convincingly, and saturated vignettes from Tallec (This Book Will Get You to Sleep!) snag the amusing expressions of Dagfrid’s new associates—and those of their sheep, too... The main attraction is Dagfrid’s brisk, impatient voice.
In this French import, Dagfrid learns the grass is always greener on the other island.
Dagfrid’s not a fan of Viking girlhood—she’s not into the double bun hairstyle; she dislikes the “superlong dress” that she’s supposed to wear; and, worse, she hates everything about fish, a staple on their island. She modifies the customs to her liking—she keeps her hair in practical braids and sews herself a pair of pants—and then has her brother teach her to build a boat (in exchange for showing him how to sew). Then, Dagfrid sets sail in hopes of finding “something to do somewhere besides eating fish!” She discovers an island inhabited by Viking girls much like her, except they’re sick and tired of eating sheep and stinky sheep fat lamps. Dagfrid trades fishing and boat-building lessons for some sheep. Back home, her introduction of livestock adds variety to her people’s diet and opens the door for more practical, medium-length dresses (though she still prefers her pants).
Dagfrid is a winning protagonist. Her charming first-person narration manages to slip in some historical information (e.g., turf houses) but generally plays up Viking tropes in a cartoonish way that’s calibrated for reader enjoyment. Expressive spot art is equally charming.
A witty, engaging heroine sparkles in this series opener.