Birk the Berserker by Robin Klein illustrated by Alison Lester

Birk is a young Viking but he is not interested in the usual Viking pursuits of pillage, fighting and violence. He has a dangerous name but he is afraid of combat.  His mother, though, is determined to turn Birk into a fighter so she sends him off with a group of other young Vikings. You can tell a lot about this group by their names. 

"Harold the Thump, Griswold Forkbeard, Boyle and Biddulph the Horrible Twins, Athol Hammerfist, Ulric Bloodaxe and Knut the Bully."

The group raid a pretty village but Birk hides in the fields and when the others leave he stays behind. The people in the village lock him in a cage and prepare to burn him but Birk gently befriends the village children. One pretty village girl called Gwenda offers Birk food and kindness. As the day for the burning approaches, the other Vikings return. Can Birk save the day?

Birk the Berserker was first published in 1987 and it was shortlisted by the CBCA in 1988. In 2007 it was reprinted by Scholastic (Omnibus Books). Of course it is now out of print but you might find a copy in a school library. The later edition had a different format and cover. 

If you are looking for a book to read aloud to a group of Year One or Two children this book would be a perfect choice. It is a long time since I first read Birk the Berserker but it absolutely did not disappoint. Robin Klein was such a master storyteller. 

You may remember I recently talked about a new book about Robin Klein - Letter's from Robin by Jon Appleton. You are sure to know her famous book Thing (and the sequel Thingnapped). One of Robin Klein's other easy chapter books from the 1980s was this one -  Birk the Berserker.  At that time publishers (Oxford University Press) were producing wonderful easy chapter books for readers aged 7+ larger format with an almost square shape. There were so many I loved to share with library groups including a couple by Robin Klein:

Here are titles in this format by other authors:

One Night at Lottie's House

Letters from Robin by Jon Appleton cover design Ann James

Robin Klein wrote more than fifty books for children but this book, Letters from Robin, is about so much more. It is the journey of a young school boy who wanted to know, really know, the authors of books that touched his heart when he was a young teen. Jon wrote letters to his favourite authors (we didn't have the tech back then so he wrote letters with pen and paper) and many of the authors replied including Robin Klein. Jon kept writing to Robin and luckily he kept all her replies and so here he is able to share his personal reading journey and correspondence in his nostalgic book. When he was locked away during 2020 Jon decided to revisit his favourite Robin Klein books. This links with a conversation he had once had with another famous Australian author. Many years ago Nadia Wheatley suggested Jon should write a book about his teen connection with so many of our famous Australian authors and hence Letters from Robin emerged. Jon Appleton has made a very comprehensive web site to supplement his book. 

During the 1980s when Jonathan was making his discoveries of Australian children's books I was just starting out as a Teacher-Librarian in New South Wales. In his book, Letters from Robin, Jon shares so many books that I also loved and warmly remember sharing with students in my school libraries. I think I smiled through the whole book - nodding and remembering terrific books (many by other authors). The style of this book is rather like a conversation. Jon chats with his readers about various book themes and then he interrupts himself with side journeys into other books - his responses and observations. I have a wonderful personal connection too because as all of this was happening Jon was producing a magazine with help from his Teacher-Librarian and she is a friend of mine. His magazine was called Rippa Reading and my friend sent copies of each issue to my remote rural school. There were 52 issues of Rippa Reading in all, published between 1986 and 1995.

Here is a guest post by Jon Appleton for Kids' Book Review. 

You should also look for the article by Jon in Magpies Magazine volume 37, no. 1 which also has a book review by Dr Robin Morrow. She says his book sent her "scurrying back to reread Robin Klein's books" - me too! I think I will begin with Games the memory of which still haunts me. 

Here is a splendid interview with Joy Lawn on her blog Paperbark Words. 

When you pick up this book I suggest dipping into the index - you will see so many familiar names especially if, like me, you were reading Australian children's books all through the 1980s and 1990s. Here are a few famous names mentioned in this book: Nan Chauncy; Gary Crew; Terry Denton; Ursula Dubosarsky; Hazel Edwards; June Factor; Jackie French; Simon French; Peter Gouldthorpe; Penny Hall; Sonya Hartnett; Libby Gleeson; Paul Jennings; Astra Lacis; Rodney McRae; Lilith Norman; Jenny Pausacker; Gillian Rubinstein; Maurice Saxby; Ivan Southall; Shaun Tan; Colin Thiele; Julie Vivas; Tim Winton and Patricia Wrightson. 

Many of Robin's stories were first published in the New South Wales School magazine. We are so fortunate to have this splendid resource here in NSW. 

Do you read dedications in books? I do. Jon dedicates his book to Cassandra Golds. Read my reviews of her books - Clair de Lune; The Museum of Mary Child; and The Three loves of Persimmon. I have now discovered why after reading Jon's interview with Joy Lawn. 

I was sent this book as a complimentary copy by Jon (through Booktopia where you can see a video of Jon). When it arrived I read the whole book in one sitting. Thanks also to The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature who connected me (and this blog) with Jon.

In this post I will focus on Robin's books for younger children in Primary School. Her Young Adult novels were splendid but on my own reading journey I mostly encountered her books for readers aged 5-12. 

Apart from Hating Alison Ashley I think the Penny Pollard series were probably the most popular series in my Primary School library. Over time the covers and format changed:

One book by Robin Klein that is still in print is Boss of the Pool and by coincidence I was chatting with a senior primary teacher who had just read this book to her class. I was amazed this teacher had only just discovered this book which was first published in 1986. There have been so many cover designs:

I have talked about some of my favourite books by Robin Klein here on this blog.

Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn Left

Ratbags and Rascals 

This is such a perfect short story anthology. It needs to be reprinted.

Hating Alison Ashley

Junk Castle

People Might Hear You

Thalia the Failure

Robin Klein also wrote some terrific poetry. Try to find Beetle Soup.  I also had these two collections in my previous school:

And Robin wrote some terrific picture books and large format junior novels (I used to read many of these to my library groups):

There was another book with letters to Robin Klein written in 1988. I don't remember seeing this book but Jon talks about it quite extensively:

Researching this post I discovered some books I Robin Klein that I had never seen:

This one is illustrated by Geoff Hocking

This is one of the stories from Ratbags and Rascals - I was amazed to discover it had been made 

into a stand alone book published in 1988. Perhaps it was part of a 'Reading scheme'. 

Robin wrote a book for the After Dark series.  I do wish these books were still in print. They were written and illustrated by the most talented book creators in Australia and all of them are simply perfect for reluctant senior Primary readers and they also work really well as read aloud books. My personal favourite is The Playground by Shaun Tan.  This one - The Goddess is illustrated by Anne Spudvilas.

Here is the cover of Hating Alison Ashley in Spanish:

Did you know Robin and the illustrator Alison Lester made four tiny spin off books from Thing and Thingnapped - called Thinglets? My lucky friend, who by coincidence works in the junior library of Jon's old school,  has a set of these in her library. 

Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn Left by Robin Klein

Friday Old Favourite

Blurb: "I don't think I can bear this exile,' said Mother on the family's second day on planet earth. 'It may not be for as long as we think,' replied X. 'At any moment Lox could beam us saying 'Come home, all if fogiven.' But it wasn't to be as easy as that. Even with their extraterrestrial powers, learning earth customs caused all sorts of problems for the crazy alien family from Zyrgon."

Why oh why oh why is this fabulous book out of print?  I despair.  Luckily I imagine you will be able to find a copy in a school library - this is where I found mine. If you have never read Halfway across the Galaxy and turn left you are in for a real treat and if you read it some time ago (as I did in 1985) I highly recommend you revisit this brilliant story. You could also look for the sequel Turn right for Zyrgon.

Why do I love Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn left by Robin Klein first published in 1985.

Quirky and perfect character names: X; Qwrk; Dovis; Lox and Aunt Hecla.

A character you truly care about: X has moved her family halfway across the galaxy to escape the authorities on Zyrgon who suspect her father has been engaging in illegal gambling. X is the family organiser a role she takes very seriously. She has prepared and researched their new life on earth but there is so much she does not know. The responsibility of taking care of her family is just way to much for this young girl and then there is the awful bullying she must endure at school along with the constant fear of making mistakes on this new planet.

The individuality of each member of the family: Qwrk is a five year old genius who discovers he is also a spectacular musician; Dovis can levitate and recite poetry and she is so utterly beautiful every one who meets her is entranced; father is a talented gambler but he is also a brilliant cook; and mother is an amazing fashion designer. 

I re-read Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn left in one sitting today. I loved it all over again. In this blog post from 2015 you can read more about this book. Halfway across the Galaxy and Turn left would be a perfect class read aloud book for Grade 4 or 5. 

I have now discovered a Television series was made based on this book. There were 28 thirty minute episodes. 

Ratbags and Rascals by Robin Klein illustrated by Alison Lester

Here is a terrific collection of seventeen short stories. Alas as is often the case with books in this blog it is out of print.

This book was first published in 1984 but look for it in your library. Every story is the perfect length for when you have ten spare minutes and need a quick story to read either for yourself or to a class. Today we read How Clara Bepps put Strettle Street properly on the map and Year 5 loved it. Clara thinks her street is so boring but she soon rectifies this by adding stars on the footpath, a swimming pool inside a disused house, a canter levered car park and a stage where you can bring something and take something. This is such a lovely idea.

Another very funny story in this collection is Parker Hamilton about a family robot. I like the idea of robots helping in the home and in fact this does happen in Japan. If you want to go further with robots you should also read Eager and Eager's Nephew by Helen Fox- these are among my favourite robot stories.

Have you ever been on a school camp and had to put up with a night of snoring? The Anti Snore Machine is the story for you. The diagrams that accompany this story are just perfect for all aspiring inventors.

There are fun little illustrations scattered throughout the book by Alison Lester. My copy has a different cover which is yellow and pink and actually more appealing than the one I found for this blog entry. Look for Ratbags and Rascals.  I am sure it could easily be hiding on your school library shelves. I have also found several copies at charity book sales in recent years.