posted on 09 Mar 2020

Jasper: Viking Dog by Hilary Robinson

This is the welcome second book in a series that started last year with the publication of Jasper: Space Dog - which I reviewed enthusiastically on this site. Jasper: Viking Dog follows a similar and equally successful format of an exchange of letters between Charlie Tanner (on behalf of his dog Jasper) and a fictional expert – this time it’s Astrid the Curator at the Viking Museum, Bogna.

On this occasion, Jasper’s imagination has been captured by the notion that he might have ‘Viking roots’. This prompts Charlie to write to Astrid the Curator to see if maybe Jasper could volunteer as an actor in the reconstructions the Centre puts on for tourists and visitors.

This is the start of a lively and amusing series of letters that pass between Charlie and Astrid that allows the author, Hilary Robinson, to conduct a covert and utterly painless history lesson. The book is actually packed with fascinating facts – yes, Vikings had dogs; they were more interested in farming than fighting for quite a lot of the time; they had brilliant names; they loved a bit of skiing; and, yes, they decorated their teeth with coloured dye (hence our use of the term ‘bluetooth’). There’s also some myth-busting here as well. No, Vikings almost certainly didn’t have helmets with horns on them – they were likely instead to wear a sensible warm woollen cap. That’s not quite the picture of fearsomeness we have come to expect!

The author has been teamed-up again with Lewis James to do the illustration and as with the first instalment, his work adds a dimension to the book that would be missed if it wasn’t there.

Publisher, Strauss House Productions, has done a good job of putting together a pocket-sized paperback that feels substantial and easy to read. There’s some good PR here for the Jorvik Viking Centre in York and books like this can help fire the imagination of younger readers who will then want to go and see the Centre’s treasures for themselves.

I’m of the opinion that there can’t ever be too many books for younger children that successfully bring history to life and so more in this series would always be welcome. The bonus here is that it is done so well and with such a good feel for what will enthuse and amuse the target audience.

Bring on the next episode in Jasper’s growing list of ambitious lifestyle aspirations!

Terry Potter

March 2020