Shortlisted for the Laugh-Out-Loud Book Awards 2016, 6-8 years Category - September 2015 Book of the Month Thorfinn is a charming boy, polite, tidy and he makes a lovely cup of tea. Unfortunately, he’s a Viking and this particular skill set doesn’t do anything to impress his family or neighbours – in the words of Erik Ear-Crusher, his dad’s arch rival for chief, ‘he has all the fighting spirit of a plate of boiled turnips’. But Thorfinn is smart as well as nice, and when he’s sent on a raiding mission proves that he more than deserves his place. Thorfinn’s politeness in the face of the Viking’s terrible behaviour provides lots of laughs and his eventual triumph is very satisfying for readers. Packed with illustrations and a whole host of extras too – games and activities – this is a very good addition to the canon of silly Viking stories for young readers.~ Andrea Reece
Prepare yourself for the wrath of the Norsemen! That is, if you don't mind and it's not too inconvenient...Everyone knows Vikings are ruthless barbarians whose idea of a good time involves pillaging, plundering andfeasting. But Thorfinn is no ordinary Viking! He is always polite and happily offers to wash the dirty dishes. Too bad his dad is Harald the Skull-Splitter, Village Chief and the roughest and toughest Viking of them all. Tired of Thorfinn and his too-nice ways getting them into trouble, his dad decides it's time for Thorfinn to earn his gruesome Viking name. Stuck on a longboat with a ragtag bunch of adventurers who'd like to throw him overboard, how will the Nicest Viking cope with a dangerous voyage to Scotland?
Thorfinn the Nicest Viking is a funny, illustrated, action-packed new series for young readers who love Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, set in a world where manners mean nothing and politeness is pointless!
David MacPhail left home at eighteen to travel the world and have adventures. After working as a chicken wrangler, a ghost-tour guide and a waiter on a tropical island, he now has the sensible job of writing children’s books. He lives in Edinburgh.
