Dads Read Too

JER: “ Hilda Series : Hilda and the Troll; Hilda and the Midnight Giant; and Hilda and the Bird Parade” by Luke Pearson plays with Nordic fantasy and the unexpected.  Is that a tree or “The Wood Man” who is “aware of too much in my own house to ever truly be comfortable in it” so he spends lots of time in Hilda’s house.  Is that a rock or a Troll?  Is that a mountain or a Giant who has been waiting for her friend?  Most importantly, I love these three books (and look forward to getting the rest in the series) since they model adventure (without focusing on the fact that Hilda is a girl), they model empathy (you never know if that common looking crow could be a THUNDERBIRD), and they model navigating real life situations: making mistakes, moving to new places, relying on the kindness of others, learning who are your real friends, etcetera.  Many thanks to my friend @mshenriksen for introducing to this series.

JER: my good friend since 7th grade - @mshenriksen suggested this book: “ Hilda and the Troll ” by Luke Pearson.  It has unexplained creatures, adventure, rocks that look like Trolls, actual Trolls, and just the right amount of vulgarity.  Hilda enjoys sleeping in a tent outdoors in the rain since it makes her “coziness canvas thin”, and also learns that placing bells on the noses of Trolls is now considered a “barbaric practice”. My friend Mike summed it up best, “it is an interesting mystical adventure story, and the hero just happens to be a girl.” It isn’t pushing that storyline or detail, it just is.  I found it really refreshing. (NOTE: Ejler is an aspiring graffiti artist, and she has unfortunately left her mark all over this cover.)