Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Unavailable
Odd and the Frost Giants
Unavailable
Odd and the Frost Giants
Unavailable
Odd and the Frost Giants
Ebook74 pages1 hour

Odd and the Frost Giants

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this ebook

The thrilling, wintry Nordic tale by Neil Gaiman, who weaves a magical story of legend and adventure that will enchant readers from beginning to end.

Odd, a young Viking boy, is left fatherless following a raid. In his icy, ancient world there is no mercy for an unlucky soul with a crushed foot and no one to protect him. Fleeing to the woods, Odd stumbles upon and releases a trapped bear…and then Odd's destiny begins to change.

The eagle, bear, and fox Odd encounters are Norse gods, trapped in animal form by the evil frost giant who has conquered Asgard, the city of the gods. Now our hero must reclaim Thor's hammer, outwit the frost giants and release the gods…

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateSep 22, 2009
ISBN9780061964879
Author

Neil Gaiman

NEIL GAIMAN was awarded the Newbery and Carnegie Medals for The Graveyard Book. His other books for younger readers include Coraline (which was made into an Academy-Award-nominated film) and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (which wasn’t). Born in England, he has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. You can learn more at www.mousecircus.com.

Read more from Neil Gaiman

Related to Odd and the Frost Giants

Related ebooks

Children's Family For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Odd and the Frost Giants

Rating: 4.298245614035087 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

171 ratings121 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was lovely, and just the right length for the story it was.Drawing on north mythology and heroic folklore, this book tells the story of Odd, an infuriatingly cheerful boy who goes on a quest to end the long winter with three animals who are more then they appear. Reading this book made me very happy.Neil Gaiman is at his best when he writes for children and young adults. His books for a younger audience are consistently great.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Short but really wonderful story. I'm definitely going to read this to my son.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Many years ago, so long ago the Vikings roamed the forests and villages, a father died. It wasn't just any old person's father, it was Odd's. The young man had jumped into the foamy waters of the ocean on a sea-raiding trip to save one of the ponies, who got flung overboard. Alas, nobody was saved but the grateful pony.

    So Odd's mother married Fat Albert. The drunkard didn't spend much of his time with the poor lad in much of a way, for he had his own children to look after, even if he didn't have clubs and meetings in the background. So Odd strayed.

    As a young boy, he had attempted to chop down a tree with his father's axe. The results? A crutch. And most of all, pain. So this meant that the little, limping boy had not much of a chance in the wild. Survival was, as you can see by reading the first few sentences in this paragraph, not Odd's thing.

    He camped in his father's old hut, not daring to stroll into the unknown thicket quite yet. Here he found a small lump of wood, which his father had started to carve. But he had never finished it; so Odd tried to finish it for him.

    The next day, he was awoken by the sly moan of a fox outside his door. The fox winked at him cheekily and then darted off into the woods. So Odd followed.

    But what did he find? What could he do? What did the lump of wood have to do with anything? Read on, find out.

    This book was marvellously funny, with few dialogue and not many expectations. But that's how I like books; who wants a book with no surprises, dead seriousness and chitter-chatter on every page? Not me, I can tell you!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I thought this was an excellent fairy tale that felt as though it had been told for hundreds of years even though I had never read it. Odd, our hero, runs away from home because winter is never ending (literally) and he can't stand to stay with his mother, stepfather, and multiple not so nice step-siblings. He encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle, who turn out to be gods who have been tricked by the Frost Giants. In order to bring spring back and save his village, Odd must go to the land of the gods and defeat the Frost Giants; no small task for a 12 year old with a bad leg and a crutch.I will refrain from telling more about the plot because it is a short book, but I recommend this to readers of all ages. The edition I had also included lovely illustrations by Mark Buckingham which added to the spare, wintry feel of the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a fun, light, and very short listen, Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants Perfectly narrated by Neil Gaiman (definitely an author who SHOULD narrate his books!), this book features a few of the heroes from Norse mythology, and is a great audiobook for the entire family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "Odd and the Frost Giants" is the best Neil Gaiman book I've read in years. His children's fiction ranks very highly alongside J.K. Rowling's in quality, yet he has a very different style, using Norse mythology to weave together a heartwarming tale of a crippled boy who sets out on an adventure to Asgard, but not without help. Gaiman makes the historical harshness of Viking lore appropriate for children, not by censoring himself or talking down to his readers, but simply by pointing out just how silly some elements of Norse life were. A good read for little warriors of all ages.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked this book, but I thought it was a little too short. I would have loved it so much more if it were longer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A lovely little book, set in the time of Vikings and Scandinavian Gods. We get Odd (as in Odd, the viking word for tip of a blade, not Odd, as in Strange, although he is a also a bit odd that way too).When life with his stepfather gets to be too much, he goes out for a walk. And ends up finding some strange companions with a problem. Since this is a children's book, Odd manages to find a way to fix the problem, get the frost giant to go home, and even manages to get on Freya's good side. It is very much a growing up tale, safe for older children (and younger who can handle a bit of scariness). Adults will also like it - while this is a kids book, it isn't written simply.A lovely read, highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found this book at Tescos being sold for £1. I was intrigued as I had seen Mr Gaiman's handiwork on the big screen. As it turns out, this book had been printed for World Book Day 2008. What a shame, I didn't have my token with me.I got home and, whilst waiting for a particular television programme to appear, I read it. It only took 45 minutes, but it was an enjoyable 45 minutes of reading. The book is aimed at children, I'm sure, but this adult enjoyed it.The story centres around Odd, a viking boy living with his Scottish mother and Fat Elfred, his rather short-tempered stepfather. Odd is a fitting name for this boy, as most think him strange and his story, as told in the book is wyrd, too.Do read this to your children as a bedtime story; it will give them insight into how a boy can defeat those bigger and stronger than himself. Its also a nice little introduction to the gods of the Norse myths.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gaiman has brought Norse mythology to life with the tale of Odd. Odd is, well, odd. He is a young man who has lost his father, lamed his leg, and been stuck with a bad example of a stepfather. But he always smiles. It really is rather irritating. When winter stretches on for several extra months Odd decides to get away from his village. There are too many people packed in the hall, drinking, fighting, and playing dangerous games. Odd takes himself off to the woods where he runs into a bear, a fox, and an eagle who are more than they appear. A frost giant has taken over Asgard and banished Odin, Thor, and Loki to Midgard in animal form. Odd throws his lot in with the three gods and soon finds himself on a quest to save Aesir and his own people from the endless winter.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a lovely little book. It was specially written and published for World Book Day 2008 and tells the story of Odd, a little, lame boy who runs away from home and meets three creatures: a fox, a bear and an eagle. Together they journey to Asgard, home of the Norse Gods, to save it, and the world, from the Frost Giants.

    How I wish I'd had this book as a child, I would have loved it then (to be fair, I loved it now - even though (as an adult) I don't usually read childrens books. I also wish that Neil Gaiman had been commissioned to write Ragnarok for the myth series, he would have brought it all, vividly, to life unlike the dry version that AS Byatt wrote.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think I'm too old for this story, which was listed as 'young adult', but would be fine for younger children. It was a pleasant enough tale of a young Viking's encounter with Norse gods. I heard it as an audio book - which was only 1 hour 46 minutes long, so it's pretty short.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While not Gaiman's best work, it definitely is plucky and charming in its own right, and will bring a smile to any reader's face.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Neil Gaiman is a little obsessed with gods, but that's okay. If American Gods is the solid, upstanding one that works hard and takes its job seriously and Anansi Boys is its younger brother that pops by in the middle of the night to crash on the couch with some beer and a couple of friends, Odd and the Frost Giants is the youngest brother of all, the third child who goes around climbing into magical wardrobes when the others aren't looking (it wouldn't shut the doors properly, mind, because Odd is the type to know that it's very foolish to shut oneself inside a wardrobe).In a Viking settlement in Norway, long ago, winter seems to be stretching on forever. Odd, a crippled boy who doesn't fit in with his stepfamily, runs away from home when he can no longer stand to be in close quarters with them. He ends up following after an unusually insistent fox, starting on an adventure that will throw him in with the gods in a fight to defeat the frost giants (well, giant, anyway) and save his village from endless winter.Odd and the Frost Giants is a novella written for World Book Day as part of a promotion to get kids reading (schoolchildren in the UK and Ireland are each given a token that can be redeemed for one of the novellas specially written for the occasion). If this book doesn't work, I don't know what will; it's everything a children's book should be - high adventure, mythology, magic, talking animals, a good sense of humor, and a sensible, sympathetic protagonist. I really enjoy Gaiman's books, but one of my standard complaints is that sometimes they feel like they could use a bit more plot to hold up all the lovely writing. Odd certainly doesn't have this problem; at roughly a hundred pages, it moves along at a smart clip, but it never comes across as rushed, either. It's utterly charming and satisfying in the way only the best fairy tales are. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thought this was a perfectly good story, well worth the hour spent reading it, and nicely packaged to boot. It didn't have anything especially magical or interesting over any other well-done retelling (or inventing) of classical mythical tales, in this one set with the Norse gods.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A wonderful, fun story in the style of Norse God mythology. Odd is a boy displaced in his society when he meets a few talking animals. These new friends of his turn out to be Loki, Thor, and Odin, and they rely on Odd to help them overcome a Frost Giant in the hope of returning each of them home. It reads like a cross between a traditional fable and a modern children's tale. Gaiman weaves another humorous tale with heart. Loved it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is popular to write about the Norse mythology - it seems to be the fancy subject for the authors that don't want to write about vampires (and I am just waiting for someone to mix them)... And in most cases we either get one or more of them in the 21st century or we have someone from nowadays going back in time... or something along these lines. Gaiman chose a different path - a lot more traditional but without being boring. Odd is a small boy, living in his Viking family. He had lost his father (without the father becoming a hero) and on top of all, he is crippled after an axe accident. Both things make him an outsider in these times. And to add to the bad news, the winter is a lot longer and harsher than it should be. So one day Odd decides that he had had enough and simply runs away (in a way). Except this is the old Viking land - and talking animals and Gods are something you meet every day. And that's exactly what happens - he meets 3 animals that end up being the mightiest Gods of Asgard. And the story begins. Gaiman never plays off the naivete of Odd - he is exactly as naive as you would expect from a boy grown up at these time. But he is also a clever boy that uses all that he sees and experiences to make the best for himself and everyone else.Everyone knows how it will finish - all myths and fairy tales finish with the good winning over the bad. It is the road that matters and in the story of Odd, it is the small crippled boy that saves not just the world but also Asgard by using his wit and a bit of boyish ingenuity. It's a nice children story - it is written for the young minds but without underestimating what they can understand. Because the topics are universal - friendship, good and the power of the mind. Highly recommended for anyone that still carries the child in their heart.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants was fun, and had numerous good moments... but (and you knew there was a 'but' coming)... it felt surprisingly thin, compared to, say, 'Coraline.' The storytelling itself was fine, the mythological spin was fresh, and it certainly wasn't boring, but the emotional impact, for me, was light.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tiny YA novella in which a small, crippled Viking boy meets three exiled Norse gods and outsmarts a Frost Giant – Neil Gaiman did fret somewhat, writing it, that there was actually only one giant – on their behalf. Quite sweet,
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    You don't have to know Norse mythology to be able to enjoy this book, but those readers who do should find it adding to their enjoyment. It did for me, anyway. In many fairy or folktales it's the mother who is dead and the father who can't or won't protect his child from the stepmother's abuse, which is pretty insulting to fathers. Those fools haven't even enough sense to avoid picking a wicked woman for a second wife. Mr. Gaiman reverses this by having Odd's father dead and his mother foolishly marrying a man who may not be wicked, but he's abusive when he's drunk.To Elfred's credit, he doesn't plot Odd's death or send him away. He just makes the crippled boy's life miserable enough that Odd leaves home. It should also be said that his stepfather had nothing to do with how Odd became crippled.The story is short, but Mr. Gaiman does excellent work in sketching the personalities of the characters. I loved the arguments among the gods. I also loved the fact that Odd had wit enough to ask the right questions and solve the problem. Like Bugs Bunny, Odd lacks brawn, so he needs to use his brain to save the day.This is one of those children's books that make good reading for children and adults alike. If it leads to exploring Norse mythology, so much the better. They're good myths.My edition reminds me of some of my early 20th century books in that there's no dustjacket, just a paper illustration glued inside a border. Unlike those books, there's also a glossy rectangle with a synopsis and some of the usual information to be found on the back flap of a dustjacket/paperback cover glued to the back of the cover.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This review refers to the September 2016 Deluxe Hardback Edition illustrated by Chris Riddell.This wonderful edition combines a wonderfully written story Of love, gods and true magic with amazing illustrations by one of the world's master illustrators/storytellers inside a beautifully produced package which I will treasure. I really want to read the story out loud to my grandchildren! The story and the language is magical and demonstrates Gaiman's amazing talent (you can tell I am a fan). Buy it and cherish it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a wonderful, quick read, by one of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman.The story is about a lonely boy named Odd, who lost his Viking father and his mother who was "stolen" by his father from her native Scotland. Odd tries to make it on his own by living up to his father's mythical image only to be crippled in an accident which forces his mother to get re-married.Needless to say Odd's stature in the new house is not very high.Odd runs away to his old house, only to encounter Norse gods in the form of a bear (Thor), an eagle (Odin) and a fox (Loki). Turns out they were outsmarted by the frost giants and thrown out of Asgad. On his quest to help the gods and save his people from ultimate starvation in the endless winter Odd learns about himself, his family and how to handle the curve ball thrown at all of us during our lifetime.A good point to take away from this storyThe book is written funny and simply so a pre-teen child can understand it (the recommended age of 9 -12 is perfect), the story telling is masterful, the pace is perfect, and the read is entertaining to young and old alike.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very refreshing book I loved to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fantabulous! But now I want to know what happens next....
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thought this was a perfectly good story, well worth the hour spent reading it, and nicely packaged to boot. It didn't have anything especially magical or interesting over any other well-done retelling (or inventing) of classical mythical tales, in this one set with the Norse gods.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It’s a sweet fable set in Norway of a crippled boy named Odd, who helps out a few Norse gods in distress. It’s a short tale, told briskly. Odd is a good foil for the strong-willed gods, and an easy hero to cheer for.While $14.99 seems a steep pricetag for this slim volume, it is beautifully bound in blue cloth, and contains lovely pencil illustrations by Brett Helquist. Overall, this runs a big lighter than much of Gaiman’s work, and would be a great readaloud for children who can manage to listen when there aren’t pictures on every page, and for young readers to read on their own. Gaiman wrote it for World Book Day in the UK, an event that seeks to inspire children to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Each time I read something by Gaiman, I think, “This. This is where he excels.” Whether it's a fairy story (Stardust,) or a children's story (Coraline.) Or the melding of American Mythology with a new Mythology of his creation (American Gods, Anansi Boys.) Maybe it's something vaguely steampunkish and other-worldly, like Neverwhere. Sometimes it's when I revist the complexities in Sandman.

    Or maybe I'm not actually that fickle, and I just like the way his phrasing and ideas are like mainlining story straight into my amygdalae, so most of the time it doesn't really matter what type of fiction he's writing this time.

    I like best to listen to his novels in audio format; it makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a big quilt and being read to like a child.

    Odd is another installment in his latest string of children's tales. This one borrows heavily from Norse mythology, but mostly through allusion to other, more established stories. I had to go look some of them up – like how Odin sacrificed an eye to gain knowledge and wisdom from Mímir's Well, and about Jötunheimr, the Land of Giants. I love that there's a deeper layer of complexity to the story – but only if the reader desires it. In this completely Gaiman-invented tale, Odd, a young woodcutter's son, runs away from a cruel stepfather, and ends up meeting Odin, Thor and Loki, who have been outsmarted by a giant.

    I both read and listened to this tale, it's quite short. The audio file was well under 2 hours in length. I probably could have read it alone in far less than an hour. This edition has wonderful little pencil drawing illustrations by Brett Helquist, which underscore its suitability for children. And it is just wonderful for kids, without any focus on the darker themes present in Coraline, or even The Graveyard Book. I think it would make a fabulous springboard for homestudy elementary school children, as an introduction to mythology. This one really is for all ages.

    Audio *****
    Story *****
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I actually listened to this book - while on transport of rescue dogs - read by Neil himself and it was amazing and made the miles go fast
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Neil Gaiman wrote Odd and the Frost Giants for World Book Day in the UK. It is the story of Odd, a Viking child who has had some very bad luck in his short life: his father died, his leg is crushed, his mother remarries a not so kind stepfather, winter seems to never end. In frustration, Odd decides to leave his village and live in the woods. One day, Odd finds himself in the company of a fox, a bear and an eagle, and they have a story to tell Odd; a story that involves Asgard, Midgard, gods and giants, deceit and mischief and cleverness, and Odd finds himself eventually part of their story.It's a quick tale, and while it doesn't pull the reader into the heart of the story like some of his other books (The Graveyard Book, for instance), Gaiman's writing is still clever, fun and original. If you are a fan of Gaiman's work, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Odd is a twelve year old boy with a rough life. His father died in a Viking raid; his mother married a man that he hates; he shatter his leg when cutting down a tree; and the people who live in his village constantly ridicule and abuse him. So, in the spring, which actually is a supernaturally extended winter, Odd sets out with some food to his father's cabin to live by himself. He encounters a fox who guides him to a bear, who was seeking honey, trapped with its arm in a tree. Odd frees the bear and discovers that these animals (plus an eagle) can talk. They are actually gods that were duped into these forms by the Frost Giants that have taken over Asgard. The bear is Thor, the one-eyed eagle is Odin, and the fox is Loki. Can Odd get Asgard and if he gets there, can he do anything to help the gods reclaim their home?Odd and the Frost Giants is a very short, but interesting read. I think of it like Neil Gaiman-light for younger readers. Odd is the lowest of the low in his village. He is constantly ridiculed and is viewed as practically useless because of his handicap, but he takes everything in stride with a smile. This clever and good natured hero is also seen in fairy tales where he solves his problems in unorthodox ways despite being low in the dominance hierarchy. I like that real life problems mix with fantastical ones, like the loss of his parent and the abuse from his stepfather. Anyone can relate to Odd because, whether they are old or young, the reader may have experienced similar misfortunes. The story basically follows Joseph Campbell's hero journey, which I love. This formula is used in many myths throughout history, including The Odyssey and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. This form, coupled with the Norse mythological figures, makes the literature nerd in me very happy.I love Neil Gaiman's style of writing. He writes in seemingly simplistic sentences, but it's full of wit and humor that is instilled in all of his writing. The illustrations by Brett Helquist accompanied the story very well with his own unique style that I grew to love in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. I really liked the story, but I felt it was more like a short story than a novel. I would love to read more of Odd's adventures. Although Odd and the Frost Giants isn't my favorite book, I would still urge both children and adults to read it.