French, Jackie. Rover.FRENCH, Jackie. Rover. HarperCollins. 284p. map. c2007. 0-06-085078-7 $16.99. JS About 1000 years ago, Vikings sailed to Vinland, the coast of what is now North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . We know this from scant archeological evidence and from the Norse sagas. Jackie French based this fiction on stories in the saga, with one particularly amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. character, Freydis Eriksdottir, the daughter of Eric the Red Eric the Red, fl. 10th cent., Norse chieftain, discoverer and colonizer of Greenland. He left (c.950) Norway with his exiled father and settled in Iceland. A feud resulting in manslaughter led to his banishment (c.981) from Iceland for three years. He sailed c. , colonizer col·o·nize v. col·o·nized, col·o·niz·ing, col·o·niz·es v.tr. 1. To form or establish a colony or colonies in. 2. To migrate to and settle in; occupy as a colony. 3. of Greenland. Freydis, a married woman, took a group to Vinland, and this is the setting for Rover. The central character is Hekja, a poor girl in what is now Sweden. When she is 12 years old, Norsemen raid her small village, killing and looting. They take her to be a thrall, a slave. They also take her young dog, Rover, who becomes an essential pan of their group, even sniffing sniff v. sniffed, sniff·ing, sniffs v.intr. 1. a. To inhale a short, audible breath through the nose, as in smelling something. b. To sniffle. 2. out icebergs to warn the sailors SAILORS. Seamen, mariners. Vide Mariners; Seamen; Shipping Articles. . The Norsemen sail beyond Iceland, to Greenland, where Hekja makes herself useful and observes all that she can. Freydis owns her, and when the voyage to Vinland, where Freydis's brother Leif had gone before, is proposed, Hekja accompanies her mistress. She is useful because she is a fast, steady runner, essential to the community for communication and for scouting scouting: see Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts. scouting Activities of various national and worldwide organizations for youth aimed at developing character, citizenship, and individual skills. Scouting began when Robert S. . The story describes their voyage, what they find in Vinland, their settlement, trading with the Native people, and then disaster. At the end of the story, Hekja is old enough to be married; she has been adopted and is a free woman. She has seen horrible events and she has been courageous. Her beloved dog has lived through these adventures by her side; in fact, some YAs may enjoy this story because it is a dog story as much as because it is historical fiction. Adults will appreciate the care French takes in using the old sagas as resources. J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. Claire Rosser, KLIATT |
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