Astrid the Unstoppable

Astrid spends her days racing down the hillside on her sled, singing loudly, and visiting Gunnvald, her grumpy, septuagenarian best friend and godfather. Two startling arrivals to the village of Glimmerdal reveal that Gunnvald has been keeping a big secret that will test their friendship. Astrid — Pippi Longstocking meets Heidi meets Anne Shirley — navigates the unexpected changes with warmth and humor.

The stylish turns of phrase and swift-paced storytelling, a credit to the translator as well as the author, make the escapades highly suitable for reading aloud in chapters as well as reading alone. Either way, Astrid is a bold, resilient, and emotive heroine whose challenges are just believable enough to bring them within audience reach and whose life will be completely irresistible to young readers.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Drama and humor are interwoven throughout the well-paced narrative, which transports readers to a distinctive locale and introduces vividly drawn, memorable characters. Small drawings at chapter headings and a double-page map add visual appeal. Norwegian writer Parr, whose Adventures with Waffles (2013) has been translated into many languages, offers another original chapter book with a strong sense of place and international appeal.
—Booklist (starred review)

Imbued with a Scandinavian sensibility, this novel by Parr (Adventures with Waffles) presents fun alongside concepts such as death, physical distance between friends, and estrangement in an age-appropriate format, and both encourages readers to question new ideas and offers a fertile foundation for imagination. Fans of Pippi Longstocking and the Moomins will delight in Parr’s indomitable Astrid.
—Publishers Weekly