Thor's Wedding Day: By Thialfi, the Goat Boy as told to and translated by Bruce Coville. Illustrated by Matthew Cogswell

Published by Magic Carpet Books - a division of Harcourt Inc
Distributed by Raincoast Books

Thor is having a really bad day. His hammer has been stolen by the king of the giants, Thrym, and is being held for ransom. Thrym wants to marry Freya - The Goddess of Love, but the fiery tempered Freya will have nothing to do with him. Following a meeting with all of the Gods and Goddesses, it is decided that the only solution is for Thor to bury his pride and don a bridal gown. The mischevious Loki and the nervous Thialfi - the goat boy - need to dress for the occassion too. Thor just hopes he doesn't have to walk down the aisle!

This book was hilarious, original, and captivating. I love books about the Gods and Goddesses and it seems that we are starting to see more authors having fun with the subject. (Gods Behaving Badly is a book that came to mind). This was a quick and easy read which was expected since it is a book aimed towards children ages 8 to 12. I can imagine it would make delightful bedtime reading for children and parents alike and I could also see this book as a great way to get children introduced to Mythology in a fun way! I laughed out loud often while reading this one, it was a great adventure! I also enjoyed the sometimes dark, always wonderful illustrations of Matthew Cogswell. I especially liked his depiction of Thrym.

A great read.

Author's website: http://www.brucecoville.com/
Illustrator's website: http://www.matthewcogswell.com/