I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Lost in the Fjord is a century-old children’s adventure tale with a message for the ages. The story follows the adventures of Nonni and Manni, Icelandic brothers, whose disobedience leads them on an unexpected adventure. Parents and adults will appreciate the quaint tale’s message of love, forgiveness, and, compassion, and faith.
In 1914, Jon Sveinsson was Iceland’s only Jesuit when he penned Lost in the Fjord. The original tales were titled “Nonni und Manni” were written in German, and quickly became extremely popular in German-speaking countries. The bestsellers have now been published in 40 languages, including this 2013 English translation.
The book is written from 11 year-old Nonni’s viewpoint. When a flute-playing relative, Arngrim, stops for a short overnight visit to Nonni’s family’s home, Nonni begs to learn to play the instrument. While teaching the young boy to play, Arngrim tells Nonni that the flute is a magical instrument with the power to attract rats, snakes, and even fish. Nonni desires to play the magic flute to lure fish into his boat.
The adventure begins when Nonni and Manni venture out in their small boat for a day of fishing and flute-playing. Despite warnings from both his mother and a neighbor to stay in the harbor, Nonni decides they need to row out further to a quiet spot to lure the fish. As the fog rolls in, a storm throws the boys off course and they are lost in the fjord. Facing whales, a leaking boat, extreme cold, and hunger, Nonni and Manni find strength in their faith in God to help them overcome these obstacles.
I found Lost in the Fjord to be a quaint tale with an inspirational, timeless message of compassion, forgiveness, and love. The story would appeal best to Christian families with pre-adolescent children. I could see this book on a shelf wedged between Aesop’s Fables and the “Little House” series. I read the book aloud to my youngest children who unfortunately were not as mesmerized as I. They found the illustrations bland, the cover art forgettable, and the story predictable. They could predict the outcome of each chapter almost immediately, by just reading the chapter title. Nevertheless, Lost in the Fjord is an appealing character-building story for the ages. And, despite my children’s dislike of the cover art, I found it delightfully refreshing in its simplicity.
Unfortunately, there were some editing problems within the pages of this edition. The most consistent error was the placement of commas outside of the quotation marks, causing “floating commas.” This was distracting to me, but might not be an issue for others.
Lost in the Fjord is a century-old children’s adventure tale with a message for the ages. The story follows the adventures of Nonni and Manni, Icelandic brothers, whose disobedience leads them on an unexpected adventure. Parents and adults will appreciate the quaint tale’s message of love, forgiveness, and, compassion, and faith.
In 1914, Jon Sveinsson was Iceland’s only Jesuit when he penned Lost in the Fjord. The original tales were titled “Nonni und Manni” were written in German, and quickly became extremely popular in German-speaking countries. The bestsellers have now been published in 40 languages, including this 2013 English translation.
The book is written from 11 year-old Nonni’s viewpoint. When a flute-playing relative, Arngrim, stops for a short overnight visit to Nonni’s family’s home, Nonni begs to learn to play the instrument. While teaching the young boy to play, Arngrim tells Nonni that the flute is a magical instrument with the power to attract rats, snakes, and even fish. Nonni desires to play the magic flute to lure fish into his boat.
The adventure begins when Nonni and Manni venture out in their small boat for a day of fishing and flute-playing. Despite warnings from both his mother and a neighbor to stay in the harbor, Nonni decides they need to row out further to a quiet spot to lure the fish. As the fog rolls in, a storm throws the boys off course and they are lost in the fjord. Facing whales, a leaking boat, extreme cold, and hunger, Nonni and Manni find strength in their faith in God to help them overcome these obstacles.
I found Lost in the Fjord to be a quaint tale with an inspirational, timeless message of compassion, forgiveness, and love. The story would appeal best to Christian families with pre-adolescent children. I could see this book on a shelf wedged between Aesop’s Fables and the “Little House” series. I read the book aloud to my youngest children who unfortunately were not as mesmerized as I. They found the illustrations bland, the cover art forgettable, and the story predictable. They could predict the outcome of each chapter almost immediately, by just reading the chapter title. Nevertheless, Lost in the Fjord is an appealing character-building story for the ages. And, despite my children’s dislike of the cover art, I found it delightfully refreshing in its simplicity.
Unfortunately, there were some editing problems within the pages of this edition. The most consistent error was the placement of commas outside of the quotation marks, causing “floating commas.” This was distracting to me, but might not be an issue for others.