Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: Snorri was born in North American--more than a thousand years ago. His parents had come there from Greenland with other settlers. Snorri learned to fish, and to hunt. He also asked his parents questions: Where did you come from? Where is Greenland? He wondered what Greenland was like.

One day, while Snorri was looking at the sea, strange men came paddling up. They traded with the Norsemen, and everyone was happy. Then something happened to frighten the strangers. They went away, and they came back ready to fight.

But Snorri did not mind. Because of this, he would have an answer to hie questions about Greenland.

My Review: Very, very 1976, this book. Settlement by Vikings, okay; Native peoples, mean and threatening; instead of the older narrative of white people beating the savages, it's more or less a draw and the white folks run away back to Greenland.

People over a certain age will remember how the news of Norse settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows was very much in the news during the 1960s. Anyone just slightly younger will remember the American Bicentennial of independence from Britain was in 1976. So what could be more natural than to put this story out at that moment in history? And, since it's demonstrably true that there are no Norsemen among the Native Americans, we know only that the L'Anse aux Meadows colonists failed to gain more than a toe-hold here. Benchley imagines, in very 1970s style, that the mean ol' natives scared the wimpy non-English settlers into running away.

Ahhh, the Malaise Years. Even the colors of the so, so 1970s illustrations are Malaise Burnt Orange and black. Grim.



But the reason I got this little marvy was to research a plot point in a book I'm contemplating. Turns out it's perfect for my mooted plot point! Anyway, more on that in 15 or 20 years. But in the meantime, there's nothing that makes me think you need to get this book and read it now, or frankly ever. It's a kids' book that I'd probably never give to my kid due to simple-mindedness and cobweb-thin characters doing nothing worth discussing. I think kids deserve better than that.

There's a reason this is an obscure book I stumbled across while looking into [[Robert Benchley]]'s son and [[Peter Benchley]]'s father.


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