So, first, discussion questions. (Insert obligatory Spoiler warning here)
1. If you had to choose between being a Northman/Berserker or a Saxon, which would you choose and why?
2. How would you like being a bard's apprentice? Do you think it's a good career choice?
(Side fact: speaking of 'bards', I happened to be looking through a 20,001 Baby Names book, and stumbled upon the name Riordan (which made me think of Rick Riordan, of course) --and it means bard, or poet.)
3. How did you feel about Olaf's death? Was it neccesary? Could it have been different? Do you think Olaf went to Valhalla or one of the other after-lives mentioned in the book?
4. Which after-life do you think you'd prefer?
5. How did you feel about Lucy as a character? How about her relationship with her father, verses the relationship with Jack or her mother? Do you think it was right (or perhaps kind?) of her father to allow her to live in her fantasy world?
6. The Bard advises Jack, "You should look intelligent even when you aren't." How does this advice serve Jack as he travels on his quest? And how can you apply this to your own life; do you think the statement has real-world merit?
7. If you had the chance to visit Mimir's Well; what do you think you'd have to give up in order to drink from it?
Over all, I enjoyed the book. It was rather hard for me to get through while I was busy doing other things. I liked the tie to Beowulf. When I was in high school and had to suffer through it for what seemed like months (it's 96 pages! Why did we spend nearly an entire semester on it?!), I had little-to-no-patience for it. We watched a couple different movie adaptations, including a really horrible (and kind of creepy) claymation movie. While the story of Beowulf itself is interesting, reading it in edited old english is not exactly what I would call a good time. Especially when you can find modern, novel-length retellings that are about fifty times better... But hey, personal opinion.
Per the characters...I got a little exasperated with Lucy. Jack obviously had a lot of patience. Much more than I would have had. The instance they started talking about her being a "lost princess", I just KNEW that something wasn't going to bode well. Half-way to Ivar the Boneless and Frith's castle, I wanted to toss Lucy overboard...
I didn't like Thorgil at first, but she kind of grew on me. I wasn't sure how I felt about her change in mood after drinking from the well however... I kind of wanted to just feed her to the dragon.
As usual, I've got a few reccomendations for you.
Movies:
How to Train Your Dragon
Thor --and not just the recent movie version. Marvel has done a few animated films as well (old school style, which is just awesome!). I also highly reccomend the Ultimate Avengers movies, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man.
Eragon
Books:
The How to Train Your Dragon Series (Cressida Cowell)
Underworlds: The Battle Begins (Tony Abbott)
Raven Speak (Diane Lee Wilson)
The Coming of the Dragon (Rebecca Barnhouse) *Note: This is another Beowulf tie!*
Also, keep in mind that this is actually part of a trilogy. The other books in this series are The Land of the Silver Apples and The Island of the Blessed --both of which are available, of course, on MORE.
Graphic Novels:
Asterix Comics; there are several titles, and I'm not 100% sure which is "first". You may want to try an Omnibus (a large collection of many volumes), or just select one at random to see if you like it.
The Life Eaters (David Brin) --I haven't read this, but the cover looks interesting. It might be a little advanced for the younger spectrum here
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (Barry Deutsch)
As always, if you've got any reccomendations or final thoughts on the book, share! Otherwise, get prepped for our first official Summer Reading Program book!
The Palace of Laughter by Jon Berkeley. Place your holds now!
When the mysterious Circus Oscuro arrives in the dead of night, Miles Wednesday, a runaway orphan living in a barrel, is the only person in the town of Larde to witness the event. Later that same night, he is approached by a tiger who claims he can smell the circus in Miles. Thus begins a chain of events that introduces the boy to a winged waif named Little, a captive of the circus's sinister ringmaster. Upon Little's escape, the two set out to rescue her friend from the Palace of Laughter, which seems to be far more dangerous and horrible than the name implies. –Christi Voth, Parker Library, CO
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Happy Reading,
Samma
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