The Hiking Viking was born different. But that’s okay! His family kept pulling him back in order to do Viking things. The illustrations were adorable, The other Vikings looked burly, rough, ugly and mean.
My school’s mascot is the Viking. This book deserves placement in the library.

beautiful illustrations, captivating tale, great message about enjoying the quiet. Lovely ideas about staying true to yourself and helping others by using your own gifts and talents.

This has a similar message to another children’s book I just read, but it’s a very good one if done well: a young kid is different from their family and feels left out, the others learn to accept them for who they are, all is well by the end. It’s an important lesson for kids to learn and believe, and for adults to remember: there’s nothing wrong with being different from your family!

I really liked this book’s take: young Leif is a Viking who likes hiking. His father, mother and sister want him to train and fight so that their clan can win the Viking games! But it’s Leif’s appreciation for their homeland and all that they have which ultimately proves to be just as worthy as the ability to defend it.

I really liked that balance and the thought the book did it well. Given that it’s for a young age range, it’s short and sweet, but I do wish it had an extra page or two to draw out the ending. Just to give it that little bit of extra closure. That said, it didn’t detract from how much I enjoyed the book as a whole!

Overall this is a very cute, fun book! Definitely worth picking up! The artwork is absolutely precious, too.

Both this book and its moral are most welcome and very commendable. Young Leif just doesn't fit in with the rest of his clan in their roustabout, sporting endeavours, but that could mean their success at the Viking Games doesn't come about. No, he's much more interested in alone time, the beauty of nature, and peace. How can that equate with the spear-throwing, stone-lifting and wrestling the culture has imbued in everyone else? The adult reading this will see the moral simmering to its point for a long time, but that can hardly count as a fault in this piece. I could imagine loving the artwork a lot more than I do, but the sentiment and the approach to it is so well done this deserves four and a half stars.

BEAUTIFUL illustrations and story. This story was wonderful and has such deep meaning for kids today. It shows that being different and following your heart is ok even if others don’t understand it. It also shows that you can’t force someone to be someone they’re not. Highly recommend