About the Book and Author
For children who enjoy reading funny stories this is a new series to look out for from bestselling author Francesca Simon. It is illustrated by Steve May with lots of drawings which our young reviewer found very amusing. Two Terrible Vikings is published by Faber.
What if your parents WANTED you to behave badly? Set in the snowy fjords of a Viking kingdom, the terrible twins, Hack and Whack, are proud to be the best worst vikings. Nothing stops the marauding pair as they steal boats, loot a birthday party, track a troll and sail off to raid Bad Island with their friends Twisty Pants and Dirty Ulf.
With whip-smart dialogue, and accompanied by Dennis the Menace style anarchic cartoon imagery, this series is as sharp, funny and compelling as you would expect from the creator of Horrid Henry.
Francesca is one of the nation’s most popular authors and has written over fifty books for children of all ages. She is best known for creating the character Horrid Henry. When she is not writing, Francesca is often encouraging and inspiring young writers and has judged many writing competitions for schools. She has also been a judge for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. In 2009, in one of the proudest moments of her career, Francesca was awarded a Gold Blue Peter badge.
Francesca is also a passionate ambassador for children’s literacy and access to literature. She has been actively involved with many literacy charities and initiatives including Beanstalk, The Reading Agency, BookTrust’s Children’s Reading Fund and Storybook Dads and is a former trustee of World Book Day. You can find out more about her writing on her website.
Steve May is an animation director & freelance illustrator. As an animation director his films Anger & Rabbits won the Association of Illustrators Gold New Media Award in 2012 & 2010. X&Y (2008) was shortlisted for the British Animation Awards 2008 & has been screened internationally. His films Gut (2001) & Round (2000) have been screened in numerous international festivals & he has directed work for commercials & television including Cyberstreetwise for HM Government, & Spacehopper Man for BBC 3’s acclaimed Monkeydust series.
Book Review
I love how the illustrator has made Bitey-Bitey grin all the time
When I first looked at this book, I thought it was going to be very funny and it really did make me smile. This was because most of the characters were children like us but they were even more noisy, cheeky and disgraceful because they are vikings.
My favourite Viking is Whack but my favourite character by far is Whack’s wolf, Bitey-Bitey. I love how the illustrator has made Bitey-Bitey grin all the time and look scruffy and even though he is a wolf, the chickens chase him!
The story is about the viking children and the adventures they go on. They never want to do their chores or have a bath and instead they do things like go to a party they weren’t invited to, track a troll and go raiding.
There is a very funny twist at the end but I will let you read it to find out.
If I was to make the book even better, I would make the chapters shorter but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying it.
If you like vikings and funny things you will enjoy it too!
If you would would like to buy a copy of the book we invite you to order it from an independent book shop. If you don’t know where your closest shop is you can search here
You won’t need persuading that indie bookshops are unique, integral to your community and refuges for readers to browse and enjoy making new discoveries inside. Please support your high street and shop local.
Alternatively, we suggest that you visit your local library and request to borrow a copy from a friendly librarian, if you cannot find the book on its shelves.
Either way, we hope you enjoy being part of your unique community – happy reading everyone!
Reviewer Profile
- Name: Jonathan
- Age: 6 years
- Likes: dinosaurs, sports and jokes
- Dislikes: rice pudding and spiders
- Favourite Book: Sea Voyage by Gerard Lo Monaco
- Favourite Film: Peter Rabbit, The Movie
- Favourite Song: Crocodile Rock by Elton John
