Seven Ways to Trick a Troll (University of Minnesota Press)

University of Minnesota Press has done a first-rate job of bringing Norse mythology and tales to the next generation of readers. From re-publishing d’Aulaires’ Book of Norwegian Folktales to giving us unique works from troll expert Lise Lunge-Larsen, it has truly been an epic journey. Today, I would like to share with you their latest offering entitled Seven Ways to Trick a Troll. The book is divided into the following seven tales:

1. Little Goose
2. The Ashlad Who Stole the Troll's Treasures
3. The Hen is Tripping in the Mountain
4. The Boys Who Met Trolls in the Woods
5. A Narrow Escape
6. The Troll Who Played Hide-and-Go-Seek
7. Tor Out-Skis the Trolls

The book begins with a introductory tale that tells the origin of trolls from an "enormous frost giant named Ymir." These ancient trolls, which came from between his toes originally had six heads and six arms each, but eventually trolls started coming in varied shapes and sizes. It also tells us that their brains are the size of walnuts, so anyone, even a child, could trick a troll if they knew how. This leads us to the seven tales mentioned above and details the seven different weaknesses of a troll and how you can defeat them.

I won't tell you about all of them, but just give a brief summary of the first story. In Little Goose, a mischievous little girl goes up a mountain one day to pick berries. She eats too many and falls asleep in a cave, where a troll also happens to be. He thinks she is a goose though (something this troll does not eat), and he strikes up a conversation with Little Goose. It is here that she tricks him and discovers what he hates most of all is loud noises, especially bells and whistles. The next day she goes home and tells this to her entire town. They use this information to scare him away and build a bell tower to keep him away. Thus, we learn the first weakness of a troll is they hate loud noises. What are the other six weaknesses? You'll have to buy the book and find out! The book closes with ways to spot now extinct trolls in the different landscapes of woods, mountains, or even by large bodies of water. This is an excellent and engaging book that is beautifully illustrated. I'm not sure who loved the stories more, my son or me as I was reading them to him!

This book was provided to me by University of Minnesota Press in exchange for an honest review.