The Young Viking Earl: A Middle-Grade Fantasy Adventure by Lisa Tasca Oatway
This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.
The Stoneheart family is a special one. Not only are they a loving and close family with a penchant for trips, but their daughter Tori also has a special gift. Tori can sense when someone in the past is in trouble. By blinking, Tori can transport herself (and her siblings if they’re all holding hands) to that moment and help whoever is in trouble.
On a family trip to L’Anse aux Meadows—an early Viking settlement in Canada—Tori gets that feeling that someone in the past is in trouble, and she blinks herself to the past. Suddenly, in the Viking Age, Tori finds Gustav—a Viking teen, pinned in his boat by boxes. Knowing she needs help, Tori blinks back to the present, gathers her siblings, and then blinks them all back to Gustav. The Stoneheart siblings help free Gustav. After explaining that they are not demonic sorcerers, the Stoneheart siblings quickly realize that Gustav is alone. Without any better ideas, Tori blinks them all—including Gustav—back to the present so they can talk to their parents about what to do.
In the present, the Stoneheart parents agree to allow their children to return to the Viking Age with Gustav to help him and wait for his community to return. As the children practice their wilderness and survival skills, everyone grows closer to Gustav—especially Tori. But what will happen when it’s time to say goodbye?
The Young Viking Earl: A Middle-Grade Fantasy Adventure by Lisa Tasca Oatway is a fun fantasy and lighthearted educational book for early middle-grade readers. Reminiscent in some ways of The Magical Treehouse series (a series where a pair of siblings travels to the past and around the world via a magical treehouse), readers will find themselves bonding with the Stoneheart siblings while learning about the Viking Age in an accessible and understandable way. Because of how clear this book is, I think while it is mainly meant to be read by younger middle-grade readers, it is also suitable to be read aloud to even younger readers.
Although I have not had the pleasure of reading other books in The Blue Crescent Moon Series, it is easy to see how author Lisa Tasca Oatway can build out this kind of adventure to include other time periods (and thus learning about other time periods) in past and future installments. I am likely to recommend this series to my young nephew, who is eager to be read to about sibling adventures in history.
The Young Viking Earl by Lisa Tasca Oatway is an educational adventure into the Viking Age, explored by a fun set of siblings. Easy and fun to read (or be read aloud), this book is perfect for the curious early middle-grade readers (ages 8-12) and those younger who would love to join the Stoneheart siblings on their adventures.
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