Books My Girls Are Reading: Finn at Clee Point, Rune Warriors and The Sea of Trolls

Books My Girls Are Reading is a short column in the weekly Frog Mom newsletter that tells readers exactly what my girls are reading right now. It’s not long, it’s more like a bedtime read update. It features a book per girl, though my 9-year old is such a voracious reader that she occasionally gets more. This particular column was published in the Frog Mom newsletter on November 16, 2012.

For my 7-year old: Finn at Clee Point

By Richard Knight, illustrated y Giovanni Manna

Published by Barefoot Books

This amazing book was a fantastic multi-night father-daughter bedtime read about a 10-year old boy taking part in a fishing competition and befriending an outcast family. Since the book was in Barefoot Books’ Advanced Readers series, we thought it best if the book was read to our little girl who loves being read to every night. It would have been too complicated for her otherwise. Boy did we enjoy the reading. The setting, the language, the life in the fishing village – it was almost as if we could smell the sea salt just by reading the pages. My husband raved about the book, my little girl called me each night to summarize the action, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the story. Find it here.

For my 9-year old

Rune Warriors: Sword of Doom

By James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker

Published by HarperCollins

Rune Warriors sparked a serious interest in Vikings and Norse mythology for my 9-year old. After books about Ancient Egypt and Greece, she was amazed by Scandinavian myths, rough seas and brave warriors. Each day she’d tell me about Dane the Defiant, Astrid Mistress of the Blade and the fight against trolls and frost giants. I was really glad this book had strong female characters, she was too because she kept mentioning their prowess’s. She liked the book so much, I need to get the rest of the series.

The Sea of Trolls trilogy

By Nancy Farmer

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

After Rune Warriors, my 9-year old wanted to stay in Viking territory and so I found out about The Sea of Trolls, an epic fantasy by Newberry honor author Nancy Farmer. What can I say? My little girl gobbled up the 1,400 pages in a week! Is that love or what? I can’t blame her – an epic quest, Norse legends and Old English lore, a serious varnish of historical details, trolls, mermaids, man-eating spiders. And romance as well. She’s at an age where she starts to notice. As for Rune Warriors, the action moved at break-neck speed and the story featured strong female characters, badass and just plain bad. However this book felt denser, more textured, more challenging. It may be the first time she’s reading above her “recommended age level” but she loved it.