Adventures With the Vikings

Reviewed: August 2, 2002
By: Linda Baily (Illustrated by Bill Slavin)
Publisher: Kids Can Press
48 Pages, $8.95

The third book in the Good Times Travel Agency series sees the three Binkerton children once again venturing into Mr Pettigrew’s strange little shop and sampling another travel guide. His guides are special, though. You don’t just get to read about a time and place; you go there. This trip takes Josh, Emma and Libby to the turn of the first millennium, to Viking times.

Pettigrew’s books have this little quirk - you can’t get back home unless you’ve read the whole book. School textbooks should be organized this way!

The stories take place on two levels. On the top of the page we follow the adventures of the Binkerton trio, fish out of water in a strange land. The have to learn how to fit into their new situation and survive until they can finish reading the book.

On the bottom we follow Mr. Pettigrew’s guidebook, crammed with all sorts of information about the Vikings and their times. You have to admire the way the creators of the book have dovetailed all this information together, giving you a combination of story and information in just the right mix.

It’s a great package for both entertainment and education.

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