Last Viking Returns voted number one by WA kids
Norm and I have some good news: The Last Viking Returns has won the Hoffman Award!
It’s one of the WA Young Readers’ Book Awards and it’s given to the highest-ranked book by a WA creator. The Last Viking won the same award back in 2012.
Huge thanks to all the WA kids who voted for our book; it means a lot.
You can read more about the win on the Fremantle Press website.
An Australian Viking in Seattle
‘The Last Viking’ is making the long and perilous journey to a Norse museum in Seattle, USA. Read more on the Fremantle Press blog.
Popular children’s book The Last Viking will be read at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington, this November as part of a Nordic Stories series.
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How to make Viking costumes for kids (or grown-ups)
I made some kid-size Viking costumes for my talk at the Perth Writers’ Festival. Here’s how.
Evolution of a scene: the final version of ‘Big Trouble’
Last week I posted the roughs for this scene from The Last Viking Returns. This post will show how I got from my almost-final rough to my final illustration.
Evolution of a scene: the rough sketches for ‘Big Trouble’
final rough on the left, finished version on the right
There’s a scene in The Last Viking Returns called ‘Big Trouble’ where Fafnir the dragon is finally revealed in all his terrible glory. The scene went through a lot of changes during development, so I thought I’d share them here.
It’s a lot of pics though so I’ll share them in two parts. This post will show you the roughs, and next week’s post will show how the final illustration was put together.
(And if you haven’t read the book yet, there’s a few SPOILERS below.)
The Last Viking Returns, September/October school holiday events
We’ve got two more Viking events happening during the school holidays:
- the State Library exhibition continues until the end of the September
- we’ve got a Boffins bookshop event in Perth on Wednesday 1st October.
Hit the link for the details.
Tonya ‘Valkyrie’ McCusker launches The Last Viking Returns
James and Norman with Malcolm, Tonya and Mary McCusker at the official launch
We had two launches for The Last Viking Returns this past week: a mini-launch at the fantastic Beaufort Street Books in Mount Lawley, then a big mammoth launch at the State Library. Tonya McCusker generously dressed up to launch our book with her daughter Mary ably assisting. Hit the jump for more photos.
The Last Viking Returns exhibition
The State Library of Western Australia is exhibiting the artwork of The Last Viking Returns from today until September 30.
Head up to The Place on the mezzanine floor to see original sketches, storyboards and character designs as well as prints of the final artwork. You can also see research materials and Norm’s original manuscripts.
Read on for photos of the printing and hanging process …
Reviews for The Last Viking Returns
We’ve had a few more reviews filter through – one for The Last Viking Returns and a belated but very welcome one for The Last Viking.
THE LAST VIKING
“This is an intricately crafted picture book of the highest quality. A CBCA Notable Book in 2012, it manages to both entertain and inspire, while touching on issues ranging from childhood fears and bullying to the power of myth and storytelling. Josh’s creativity as he builds a Viking longship is a joy to behold. His bravery in the face of terror as he marches out to confront a pack of bullying children is formidable. And the way in which his problems are resolved is delightful.
There’s a lovely wry humour running throughout this book that will give parents a great deal of enjoyment too. And I absolutely loved the way the illustrations are allowed to tell entire chunks of the story. In fact, I pretty much loved everything about this book, which is why I can’t wait for the sequel due to be released this September.” –Anouska Jones, Kids’ Book Review
THE LAST VIKING RETURNS
“A very humorous account of two worlds colliding: the mortal and the Viking Asgard. Young Josh, alias Knut, must look after his younger twin siblings at the Viking theme park but Odin and the other Viking gods get caught up in the problem that occurs when the twins go berserk …
Not only is the simple story full of action but the full colour animated spreads further make this book an exciting adventure for the reader. The front end paper brings the theme park alive with its keyed map while the back end paper offers a runic alphabet and code for the more advanced reader. This landscape production will be a sure winner with young readers up to middle primary and perhaps beyond.” – John Cohen, the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Reading Time blog
The Last Viking Returns is out now!
Find it at your local bookshop or order it online.
The Last Viking Returns 