by Ieda Jonasdottir Herman (Author)
Viking Children Don't Cry.
In Iceland 1935, Didda and her two sisters, Sissi and Lilla, have a childhood of adventure but learn difficult life lessons. Like their Viking ancestors, their life is full of trolls and Hidden People and the daily chores around the farm. Didda loves climbing the cliffs to collect bird's eggs but would rather face a troll than Grandpa's nasty-tempered cow named Old Red. When chores are done, the adventure begins. She and her friends ride Icelandic horses across the fjord, risk the wrath of the trolls attempting to fly from the cowshed room and come face-to-face with a trapped polar bear.
The Icelandic frontier real-life hardships she faces teaches her to value every day. Grandpa always said Viking children never cried; they howled, screamed, bellowed - but did not cry Didda learns to overcome her fear of a terrible storm at sea that threatens to sink their ship and must come to terms with the loss of a close friend. She comes to understand joy, fear, loss and life while never crying even once.