25
Jan
2010
Interviews with My Niece as We Read Odd & the Frost Giants
Over Christmas, I brought home a copy of Neil Gaiman’s Odd & the Frost Giants to read with my niece, Mary Olivia, who is in 2nd grade. I’d actually planned on reading The Lightning Thief with her, because I got her that as part of her Christmas present, but then I picked up Odd from work and decided to borrow it.
I made two mistakes, however. The first was to tell her that I needed her to help me with my work. Which, really, was true. I got the book from work, and was going to write about it for at least my blog, if not for my internship. The second mistake I made was assuming that she would rather go read a book with me than play with a house full of cousins (seriously, there were five kids beneath one roof, ages 1-8).
I savored the time alone we spent together. Back when she was the only grandchild and I was in college, I was her summer baby-sitter. She was a flower girl in my wedding, but she might as well have been the Maid of Honor, because, despite being only three and a half, she did all of my wedding planning with me.
Anways, here is the transcript of the interview I conducted with her. We talked a little bit throughout reading (like, did she know what a certain word meant, or isn’t that funny, or look at that picture), which I didn’t record, but I did record a minute or two after each chapter.
WARNING: This contains spoilers, because, duh, we were talking about what happens in each chapter.
Chapter 1
J.T.: All right Mary Olivia, so what do you think of Odd?
M.O.: Sometimes he can be kind of odd.
J.T.: Yeah. What do you think is odd about him?
M.O.: Most kids don’t like, sneak away into the forrest.
J.T.: Yeah. And with an axe!
M.O.: Yeah, with an axe. Most ten year olds, or twelve year olds, don’t have axes.
J.T.: Right. Right. And why do you think he snuck away?
M.O.: Because like, everyone kept making fun of him.
J.T.: And what do you think he’s gonna do in the forrest?
M.O.: Live there.
J.T. He’s just gonna live there? Do you think…are you curious to find out more?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: O.K., sounds like we had a good chapter one. And you like it so far?
M.O.: Yeah. Can I go play hide and go seek [with my brother and cousins] now?
J.T.: Yes.
Ch. 2
J.T.: All right Mary Olivia, what did you think of chapter 2?
M.O.: I liked it.
J.T.: Now if you were alone in the woods, and you saw a fox, would you follow it?
M.O.: Um, yes.
J.T.: And if that fox brought you to a bear that was stuck in a tree, what would you do?
M.O.: I would run away!
J.T.: Yeah. And if…say that you didn’t run away. Say you helped the bear. Would you ride on its back?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: Yeah? If after you rescued the bear you’d get on it’s back?
M.O. Yeah.
J.T.: And once all the animals go to your house, would you invite them in?
M.O.: No.
J.T.: No? That’s going too far?
M.O.: And it would be a little crowded in there.
J.T.: Because its a small house.
M.O.: It’s only a one-room house.
J.T.: What do you think might happen?
M.O.: Um…I’m not really sure. I don’t really have any guesses.
J.T.: You were pretty good at guessing that the fox wanted Odd to follow him. So, we’ll have to keep reading to see what happens next.
M.O.: O.K.
Ch. 3
J.T.: O.K. Let’s talk about chapter three. What do you think about the bear, the fox, and the eagle being gods?
M.O.: I think the eagle…is kinda grumpy sometimes because he only says like, one word.
J.T.: Uh huh. And what do you think of the fox, Loki. Do you think he always tells the truth?
M.O.: Well, I think he’s bragging.
J.T.: Yeah he brags a lot. Even though he’s the one that got them into trouble he’s still bragging. And what about the bear?
M.O.: The bear and the fox do not get along.
J.T. No, they don’t. Does anything in this remind you of any other stories?
M.O.: No.
J.T.: No? What about the winter not ending? Is that kind of like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe?
M.O.: I haven’t seen that movie.
J.T.: Oh, you haven’t seen that movie. That’s O.K., we’ll read that book next time.
M.O.: ’cause I know it’s a movie.
J.T.: Yeah, it’s a movie, too.
M.O.: Because I heard it’s gonna be…it’s on Disney Channel.
J.T.: It’s good. It’s good. It’s a whole series of books, too.
M.O.: I know that. I know it’s a series of movies, but I forget the name of the series.
J.T.: The Chronicles of Narnia.
M.O.: Oh yeah.
J.T.: So, so far it doesn’t remind you of anything. It’s just a story.
M.O.: it reminds me of the book. And the book is called “The Book.” I don’t know. It’s just a book.
J.T.: do you think…they are going to go to Asgard, where the Gods live. What do you think about that?
M.O.: That is pretty weird.
J.T.: Yeah, that is weird. Do you think they’ll have much success?
M.O.: No, I don’t.
J.T.: All right Mary Olivia, so what do you think of Odd?
M.O.: Sometimes he can be kind of odd.
J.T.: Yeah. What do you think is odd about him?
M.O.: Most kids don’t like, sneak away into the forrest.
J.T.: Yeah. And with an axe!
M.O.: Yeah, with an axe. Most ten year olds, or twelve year olds, don’t have axes.
J.T.: Right. Right. And why do you think he snuck away?
M.O.: Because like, everyone kept making fun of him.
J.T.: And what do you think he’s gonna do in the forrest?
M.O.: Live there.
J.T.: He’s just gonna live there? Are you curious to find out more?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: O.K., sounds like we had a good chapter one. And you like it so far?
M.O.: Yeah. Can I go play hide and go seek [with my brother and cousins] now?
J.T.: Yes.
Chapter 2
J.T.: All right Mary Olivia, what did you think of chapter 2?
M.O.: I liked it.
J.T.: Now if you were alone in the woods, and you saw a fox, would you follow it?
M.O.: Um, yes.
J.T.: And if that fox brought you to a bear that was stuck in a tree, what would you do?
M.O.: I would run away!
J.T.: Yeah. Say that you didn’t run away. Say you helped the bear. Would you ride on its back?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: Yeah? If after you rescued the bear you’d get on it’s back?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: And once all the animals go to your house, would you invite them in?
M.O.: No.
J.T.: No? That’s going too far?
M.O.: And it would be a little crowded in there.
J.T.: Because its a small house.
M.O.: It’s only a one-room house.
J.T.: What do you think might happen?
M.O.: Um…I’m not really sure. I don’t really have any guesses.
J.T.: You were pretty good at guessing that the fox wanted Odd to follow him. So, we’ll have to keep reading to see what happens next.
M.O.: O.K.
Chapter 3
J.T.: O.K. Let’s talk about chapter three. What do you think about the bear, the fox, and the eagle being gods?
M.O.: I think the eagle…is kinda grumpy sometimes because he only says like, one word.
J.T.: Uh huh. And what do you think of the fox, Loki. Do you think he always tells the truth?
M.O.: Well, I think he’s bragging.
J.T.: Yeah he brags a lot. Even though he’s the one that got them into trouble he’s still bragging. And what about the bear?
M.O.: The bear and the fox do not get along.
[Here I tried to ask if the perpetual winter reminded her of any other books--I was getting at The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. But it turns out she has neither read it, nor seen the movie, but she heard it was going to be on the Disney Channel, and we thought maybe I'd read it to her next time I come to visit]
J.T.: They are going to go to Asgard, where the Gods live. What do you think about that?
M.O.: That is pretty weird.
J.T.: Yeah, that is weird. Do you think they’ll have much success?
M.O.: No, I don’t.
Chapter 4
J.T.: So that was chapter 4. What did you think about it?
M.O.: I liked it.
J.T.: What did you like about it?
M.O.: I thought [the book] was just going to be [about] Odd, and that that thing on the front was a frost giant, with a fox sneaking away, but it’s a bear, and an eagle, and they’re all friends. It’s not just Odd.
J.T.: But Odd is kind of like the leader, isn’t he?
M.O.: uh huh.
J.T.: Which is kind of funny, because he’s just human, and secretly the animals are really gods.
M.O.: Yeah. I want to hear about when the fox was a horse.
J.T.: Well, if they don’t tell it in the book, I’ll look up that story for you. So, what do you think about how they got the rainbow bridge out of the ice. Do you think that rainbows are really trapped in ice?
M.O.: No.
J.T.: No, that’s not how it works, does it? But, he did make a rainbow.
M.O.: Yep. He was probably just dreaming.
J.T.: You think he was just dreaming? You don’t think they’ve really gone through a magic portal?
M.O.: I think he was dreaming about the rainbow, because it said that he woke up. So I think they took him across a different rainbow. He was just dreaming the first time.
J.T.: O.K.
Chapter 5
J.T.: O.K., we’re about half way through the book now…we have 3 more chapters left. Were you worried about Odd, when the bear was leading him away from the others?
M.O.: No.
J.T.: You trusted the bear?
M.O.: Yes.
J.T.: What did you think about when he looked into the spring, and he saw [those visions]?
M.O.: I want to know who the person who told him to was.
J.T.: The person who said that it’s their spring?
M.O.: Uh huh.
J.T.: What do you think about Odd’s plan to go to the gates of Asgard alone?
M.O.: I want to know what “not yet” is going to mean. Like, when are the others going to come?
J.T.: Mhmm. Are you still pretty interested in the story?
M.O.: Yes.
J.T.: What’s your favorite thing so far?
M.O.: I like Loki.
Chapter 6
J.T.: What did you think of the Frost Giant?
M.O.: I thought he was going to [look like] the bear on the front [cover of the book], but he’s an actual person…kind of.
J.T.: Did you think he was mean or nice?
M.O.: Mean!
J.T.: Were you worried for Odd?
M.O.: Yes!
J.T.: How did you feel about the frost giant? Did you like him or feel sorry for him?
M.O.: I did not like the frost giant [laughs].
J.T.: What did you think about how Odd gave him that statue?
M.O.: I thought that Odd was going to want to keep it.
J.T.: Right. Like if that’s all you had of your Dad, you’d want to keep it?
M.O.: Yeah. But he still has that whole cottage.
J.T.: Yeah, he has the cottage. And he has the axe. So, how do you think the book is going to end?
M.O.: Like, the fox finds him, and then they get the bear, and then they all go in [to Asgard]. And they turn the rock back into Thor’s hammer!
Chapter 7
J.T.: What did you think of [chapter seven]?
M.O.: I liked the flying shoes.
J.T.: That’d be pretty cool to have, huh?
M.O.: Uh huh.
J.T.: And did you think that for everything that Odd did he got some good rewards?
M.O.: [nods head "yes"]
J.T.: What did you think about how the gods went back to their same personalities? Like Loki was still kind of bad…
M.O.: Mischievous?
J.T.: Yeah, mischievous is a good word [for Loki]. What do you think about how Freya said that the gods don’t change?
M.O.: I think that’s weird.
J.T.: Why do you think that they don’t change?
M.O.: I’m not really sure.
J.T.: It’s just part of being a god, huh?
M.O.: Mhmm.
J.T.: What do you think is going to happen to Odd when he returns to his village?
M.O.: Maybe if you goes back to the house–the one that’s not the cabin–and they see that he’s not limping, then they won’t call him names.
J.T.: That would be good. Do you think he’ll tell them what he did?
M.O.: If he does, they won’t believe him.
J.T.: But he has that staff to prove it.
M.O.: Ah, yes…
J.T.: Well, let’s read the last chapter.
Chapter 8
J.T.: Well, we have now reached the end of the book. Were you surprised about how Odd grew at the end?
M.O.: Yeah. It was only like, a week.
J.T.: Why do you think he grew? Do you think it was one of the things he did in Asgard?
M.O.: Yes.
J.T.: What thing to do you think made him grow?
M.O.: I think when Freya was touching his leg and stuff.
J.T.: What about drinking the water?
M.O.: yeah.
J.T.: What do you think the water did to him? Do you think that that is what Thor meant when he said that the water kind of changes you? That he was changed by it?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: Overall, how did you like the book?
M.O.: I liked it.
J.T.: Would you recommend it to your friends?
M.O.: Maybe.
J.T.: Maybe? Would you recommend it for their mom or dads to read it to them?
M.O.: Uh, yeah…Maybe not to read on their own.
J.T.: Are you interested in reading more about Norse mythology? You want to learn more about Loki, don’t you?
M.O.: Yes!
J.T.: He was your favorite, wasn’t he?
M.O.: Yeah.
J.T.: What about Odd, do you think he goes on more adventures? Do you think he’s ever going to see the gods who are his friends again?
M.O.: Maybe.
J.T.: O.K. Thank you for spending this time with me.
M.O.: Yeah. [runs away to go finish watching her movie with her Mom and cousin]
Smart kid! And so polite too. I don’t think “maybe” actually meant “maybe”.
Aw, too cute! What a dear niece you have.
I think she was a great sport … and a bright kid. I could see that perhaps a houseful of kids to play with might hold a greater attraction though. What a great aunt you are though!
My aunt never read a book with me. In fact, my parents never read to me after I learned to read I don’t think. My mom seems to think so but I have no recollection of this.
Oh, she is so adorable, and what a lovely thing to do together!