Seven Viking Days

Combining abstracted mixed-media illustrations and snippets of European legend, Cuesta recounts the origins of the names of the days of the week. After a Viking boy named Canute wakes one morning, the sun describes the stories behind the days’ names. “Without me, no plant or animal could survive on a dark and frozen earth,” says Sun, a fuzzy-edged orb with a smirking smile. “That’s why the first day bears my name.” Monday is named for the Moon, while the others “celebrate your Mighty Ones,” as Sun explains. They include Tiu, who loses his hand to the “monster wolf” Fenrir; Thor, ruler of the sky; and Queen Frigg, Friday’s namesake, who mourns the death of her son, Baldur. Blending papers, paints, and collaged objects, Hocking succeeds in creating a dreamy, multilayered backdrop for the sun’s stories, but the quality and consistency of the images vary. And while Cuesta gives readers a taste of Germanic, Norse, and Roman legend, the stories (such as the one of Tiu losing his hand) don’t always give a strong sense of why these deities were honored with days named after them. Ages 4–8. (BookLife)