Vikings topic books
Vikings topic books for children aged 7-11 in KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Tony Bradman, Jane Chisholm, Michael Morpurgo, Cressida Cowell, Terry Deary, and Neil Gaiman.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Francesco Bedini is an Italian author for children and young people and a professional luthier specialising in the construction and repair of electric guitars. Before publishing fiction he worked with after-school and cultural centres, and from 2012 he has run his own guitar-making workshop alongside writing.
His middle-grade fantasy series Il mio gatto si chiama Odino, illustrated by Stefano Tambellini, began with the first volume published by Il Castoro in April 2021. The sequence follows Aldo, Petra and friends whose scruffy, one-eyed cat is in fact the Norse god Odin; subsequent volumes include La regina dei folletti oscuri, Un pesce di nome Poseidone, and Tre giorni per dirsi addio (Il Castoro, 2021–2023). Foreign rights for the series have been licensed in multiple territories.
An English edition of the opening novel, retitled My Cat Is Called Odin, is published by Five Quills, with a paperback edition scheduled for 6 November 2025. Retail and catalogue listings give a pagination of 176 pages and credit Tambellini as illustrator.
Beyond the Odin books, Bedini has written for older readers, including the YA title Maledetto Shakespeare. He has also collaborated on game-book projects and nonfiction for children with Italian publishers.
Publication milestone: My Cat Is Called Odin (Five Quills) was released in the UK on 6 November 2025.
Vikings topic books for children aged 7-11 in KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Tony Bradman, Jane Chisholm, Michael Morpurgo, Cressida Cowell, Terry Deary, and Neil Gaiman.
My Cat is Called Odin is a gripping Norse myth retelling where frightened Aldo, brave Petra, and their telepathic cat face dark forces and discover the courage to save each other and their world.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2025. These reading recommendations include picture books, poetry, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
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