In a northern land gripped by the magic of a terrible wizard, hardship and hunger are commonplace, as the tyrannical magic-maker hoards all of the animals of the land and air, and all of the crops of the earth for himself. Boots, the youngest son of a poor farmer, finds employment with the wizard, and spends three years serving him - first as a hare, then as a raven, and finally as a fish. It is in this last incarnation that he meets the wizard's daughter, imprisoned in a glass palace at the bottom of the sea. Getting to know one another, the two young people plot how best to defeat the wizard and restore prosperity to the land...

Although author/illustrator Chris Conover does not list her source, The Wizard's Daughter: A Viking Legend is a retelling of a traditional tale from Danish folklore. Readers interested in the story can find another retelling in Svend Grundtvig's Danish Fairy Tales, first published in English in 1912. Leaving aside the issue of origin - and the lack of attribution would be my sole criticism of the book - this was a delightful picture-book folktale retelling, pairing an engaging story with beautiful artwork. The specific story was unknown to me, when I picked it up, but the story elements - the poor boy who serves a magical master, the freeing of the maiden from captivity, the challenge by riddle/question - were all reminiscent of many other such stories I have read. The idea of the wizard keeping his heart outside of his body, to make himself invulnerable, is one I have seen in multiple cultures - see Joanna Troughton's The Wizard Punchkin for an example from India, or the Norwegian tale of The Giant Who Had No Heart for another - and seems to have been an influence on J.K. Rowling, who used a similar idea in her plot-line concerning Lord Voldemort and his horcruxes. Highly recommended to all folk and fairy-tale fans. ( )

I had never heard this story when I began to read so I didn't have any prior knowledge of this legend, or tale. The story goes through the process of trying to trick the wizard into allowing his daughter to get out of his secret hiding under the sea.

I wasn't interested too much in the story line as much as I was the artwork. The artwork had so much detail in each and every picture that the pictures seem to tell a story of their own. You can see the father's feet and you really get a good idea of what they look like, rather than just from your imagination. ( )