Siri the Viking: Mimirs Well

By Author / Illustrator

Patric Nystrom, Per Demervall, Joseph A Davis

Genre

Comics & Graphic Novels

Age range(s)

Publisher

Eken Press

ISBN

9781908233295

Format

Hardback

Published

15-08-2020

Synopsis

SIRI IS BACK for another adventure! This time, the brave Viking girl and her friend Zack are searching for a lost treasure. They are helped along by Ansgar the monk, who is looking for his stolen books. A series of clues point them toward a mysterious place called Mimir's Well. But the villainous Ivar and his clumsy assistant Grim are hot on their trail, eager to get the treasure for themselves. Once again Siri has to use all her cleverness as she faces baffling riddles and dangerous traps. If she makes it through, perhaps she may find the answer to the greatest riddle of all: what precious treasure lies hidden in the depths of Mimir's Well? Click here for a teachers' guide to using this book.

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Reviews

In Siri the Viking: Mimirs Well, Siri, the smart and feisty daughter of a Viking chieftain returns for another comic book adventure with her friend Zack who's nearly, but not quite, as smart and feisty as Siri herself. This time, they are on the trail of lost treasure. They need all their wits to make sense of clues leading them to the mysterious Mimir's Well and to foil the efforts of villainous Ivar and his sidekick, Grim, to get there first. There's excitement, humour and fun as the plot gallops along in classic comic book style.

Unlike Siri's first adventure (The Emperor's Treasure) Mimir's well is set in Scandinavia rather than Miklasgard (Byzantium). But, once again, it's underpinned by accurate detail in the illustrations and in a short information section at the back. In this episode, we are introduced to the Medieval monk, Ansgar, the trading port of Birka and a quick guide to runes - enough, at least, to enable readers to write their own coded messages. It wears its learning pretty lightly, but I love the fact that it's not dumbed down either.

If I were teaching the Vikings, I would definitely want this series to be available to my class to read for fun. However, even though I don't teach the Vikings at the moment, I still want it on my bookshelf. I'll be lending it to children who enjoy graphic novels and comics. I'll also be lending it to children who enjoy adventure stories. And I'm hoping that it will provide a way into historical novels for others. In fact, I can see I'll be lending it out a lot!

86 pages / Ages 8+ / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher