Thor's Wedding Day: By Thialfi, the goat boy, as told to and translated by Bruce Coville [Hardcover]

Bruce Coville (Author), Matthew Cogswell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

What could possibly make Thor--the massive and mighty god of thunder and protector of all his people--put on a bridal gown?

It all begins when the source of Thor's power, his beloved hammer, is stolen. Unfortunately for Thor, the plan to get it back requires that he dress in fancy finery and be packed off to marry the king of the giants. Luckily, Thialfi the goat boy--along with his snarky charges, Grinder and Gat-Tooth--have come along. Working behind the scenes, Thialfi just may be able to save the day . . . which is only fair, since it's his fault the hammer was stolen in the first place.

This book is a hilarious take on the only comedy in Norse mythology, complete with talking goats, cross-dressing gods, and the warm wit that has made Bruce Coville beloved by millions.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. Coville takes a Norse poem called the Thrymskvitha and turns it into a delightful prose romp. The story centers on the theft of Mjollnir, the god Thor's magical war hammer, by the giant Thrym. Without the hammer, the gods are vulnerable to an attack from the giants, which means that Thor will do anything to get it back, including cross-dressing as Freya, the goddess of love, and presenting himself to Thrym, disguised as the giant's potential bride. Thor's story is told by Thialfi, Thor's goat boy, who manages to save the day. Coville fleshes out the ancient poem, plucking characters from other Norse myths and weaving them into this story. Throughout, he injects a modern sensibility while keeping the feel of the original myth. Children may want to move from this retelling to broader collections of Norse lore, such as Mary Pope Osborne's Favorite Norse Myths (1996). Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A frolicsome tale . . . Coville holds comedy and suspense in satisfying balance."--Publishers Weekly

"Delightful."--Booklist

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152014551
• ISBN-13: 978-0152014551
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,391,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun romp into the Myths, September 20, 2007

By 

Spence the Elder (East TN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thor's Wedding Day: By Thialfi, the goat boy, as told to and translated by Bruce Coville (Hardcover)

A fun romp into the world of Norse Mythology. I really enjoyed the characters of Gat & Grinder. It's not everyday that you can get insulted by goats. I do think that Thor was a bit too dumb and that Freyja was a bit too vain. That is however, a matter of personal interpretation and opinion of the original myths.
I only found two "factual" areas that were inaccurate. The first was when our merry cartload of cross-dressers road across the Rainbow Bridge, (Thor can't cross the Rainbow Bridge, he's too heavy). The second was, who it was that suggested Thor dress in bridal attire. While I agree with the author that it only seems logical to have Loki make the suggestion, is was in "fact" Heimdal who made the suggestion. If we're going to teach the younger generations the Nose Legends, we might as well get them correct as we can.
I loved the cover art, it is reminiscent of Fineous Fingers. My copy does not have any inside illustrations. I hope the author and Illistrater have corrected this in subsequent publications, (I think I may have an advance copy). All in all a good read for its intended age group.

In Frith,
Spence

"Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc"
M. Addams

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced and hilarious retelling of a Norse myth, September 23, 2005

By 

KidsReads (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thor's Wedding Day: By Thialfi, the goat boy, as told to and translated by Bruce Coville (Hardcover)

Grumpy goats, grumpy gods, and grumpy giants create a fast-paced, hilarious book from fantasy writer Bruce Coville in his delightful new release, THOR'S WEDDING DAY.

Thor, the god of thunder and lightning, has lost his magical hammer, or rather, it was stolen by a shape shifting dwarf working for the greedy giant Thrym. Thor's goat boy, Thialfi, accidentally allowed the dwarf into Thor's house. Thor's hammer is the most powerful weapon the gods have against the fierce giants, enemies of the gods. Even though Thialfi doesn't tell anyone it's his fault that the hammer is missing, he gets enrolled in the plan to bring it home.

Mischief maker Loki is sent to bargain with the giant. Thrym will return Thor's hammer if he can marry the beautiful goddess with the hefty temper, Freya.

Freya refuses with great gusto and breaking of dishes. The alternate plan is to convince the giants that Freya has come to the wedding when it's really a god disguised as Freya. When the hammer is returned at the wedding, the plot is to bring an end to the thieving giants. But the giants have an imposter of their own.

Dressing a god, his goat boy, and Loki as women proves to be a very funny undertaking as the goddesses can't decide what to use for false bosoms --- apples or two sleeping rabbits?

Thialfi finds a dress difficult to move around in as he works behind the scenes to aid his master's recovery of the hammer. A mysterious pair tells him how to find the hammer in return for his secrecy. He can't tell anyone who helped him, which adds another layer to Thialfi's already guilty conscience.

Bruce Coville's passion for Norse mythology translates well into a fun chapter book for young and old.

--- Reviewed by Joy Held

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Idea, August 21, 2005

By 

Anne-Marie Gilliland (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thor's Wedding Day: By Thialfi, the goat boy, as told to and translated by Bruce Coville (Hardcover)

This book grabbed my attention as soon as I saw the cover. The cover art is hilarous, in fact it really is my favorite thing about the book. The rest of the illustrations inside are black and white, look possibly to be charcoal sketchs so they don't have the same sharpness that the cover has.

As for the text, some might prefer to read the explanitory notes that are in the back beore hand, if they aren't familiar with the world of Norse mythology. Though it isn't necessary. Everything is explained pretty well. It is perhaps some of this need for explaination that slows down the narrative slightly, I didn't find the book as humourous as I had hoped I would. I did most certainly giggle aloud on the discussion over what to make Thor's bossoms' out of.

Thialfi as a narrator works well and is woven into the myth very seamlessly, an impressive feat and a credit to Coville's familiarity and admiration for the original stories. All in all I found it very engaging and well thought out, but not the strong example of humour I felt it should have been.

For similar books I reccomend Kate McMullan's Myth-o-Mania series.

Hopefully Coville will find ways to make more Norse myths accessible to the younger audience, and the world at large.