Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr translated by Guy Puzey

Astrid lives in a remote village with very few inhabitants. She is the only child living there. Astrid lives with her father and she has the beautiful friendship of an older man called Gunnvald. He is her godfather and best friend. Winter is bitterly cold but Astrid loves her village of Glimmerdal and she enjoys skiing, her pet seagull, riding sledges built by Gunnvald and singing.

Life is safe and predicable. Astrid would like a friend her own age and she does wish her mother would come home more often. Her mother is a research scientist currently working in Greenland. Astrid thinks she knows everything about her village and especially about Gunnvald but one day a mysterious letter arrives and her world is turned upside down.

Here is the Norwegian cover. Astrid is really called Tonje:

Books in translation often have a different pace. I really enjoyed Astrid the Unstoppable - in fact I read the whole book (314 pages) in one sitting.  In 2009 this book won the Brage Prize for Children's Literature in Norway.

One more thing. There is beautiful music in this book which reminded me of the Swedish movie "As it is in Heaven" and I wish I could hear the goat herding lullaby that Astrid sings (page 96, 97) while her friend Gunnvald plays his fiddle. The music in this book has the power to heal and I adore that. The final scenes in the church with the choir and two fiddles are especially wonderful.

Readers looking for a warm and cozy tale to bundle up withon the couch during the winter months will find plenty to enjoy here. Kirkus

The writing in this book is also top-notch. Descriptions of the characters and setting are vivid,and the author gives a clear picture of Glimmerdal and its inhabitants that makes the reader feel like a part of this fictional universe. Read at Home Mum 

After reading Astrid the Unstoppable you will also want read Heidi by Johanna Spyri because Astrid reads this book herself after she finds a copy in Gunnvald's house.  There is also a mention of Ronja the Robbers daughter by Astrid Lindgren and I read some comments in an essay about Astrid the Unstoppable mentioned another book series about a boy called Emil by Astrid Lingdren which I have not read. The series from 1963 begins with Emil in Lonneberga.

I knew the name Maria Parr and I was delighted to discover she is the author of Waffle Hearts - a book I loved and one I regularly recommended to my keen grade 5 and 6 library users.

I would follow Astrid the Unstoppable with The Girl who bought Mischief by Katrina Nannestad.