An American Library Association Notable Book and his first book for children, Erik Christian Haugaard’s Hakon of Rogen’s Saga is a remarkable novel that perfectly catches the mood of a harsh but heroic people. Set at the end of the Viking period, it tells of a young boy, Hakon, from the island of Rogen who, after his chieftain father is murdered, undertakes to reclaim his birthright from his treacherous uncle. The illustrations by renowned artists Leo and Diane Dillon make this captivating story come alive.

Erik Christian Haugaard (1923–2009) was a celebrated Danish author and translator of more than twenty critically acclaimed books for young readers, including The Samurai’s Tale, The Boy and the Samurai,and The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai. His books have been awarded the American Library Association Notable Book Award, Jane Addams Award, and the Boston Globe Horn Book Award, among others.

"Exciting and beautiful prose with the flavor of the old sagas."—Library Journal, July 1963

"Now and then a book like [this] captures the imagination and lives on in memory."—Chicago Tribune

"Told with great power and lyricism by a master storyteller."—Commonweal, May 1963

"An absorbing, moving, and beautiful book."—Horn Book Magazine