By Cameron Woodhead
Odd and The Frost Giants
Neil Gaiman; illus, Chris Riddell
Bloomsbury, $29.99
Neil Gaiman's Odd and The Frost Giants has been reissued in handsome hardback just in time to fill bookish kids' Christmas stockings. Since at least the days of his Sandman comics, Gaiman has been obsessed by mythology, and this 2008 children's novel takes on Viking legend and Norse gods. The central character, a Viking boy with a lucky name, feels anything but lucky. Death and disaster lead Odd to flee into the icy wilds surrounding his village. When Odd finds a trapped bear in the forest, he discovers upon freeing it that he has released a god in disguise. Soon, our hero must use his wits to help the rightful rulers of Asgard save their home from a Frost Giant assault. Gaiman's epic fairytale is replete with magic and adventure, and augmented by Chris Riddell's charming illustrations.