Astrid, the only child in her small Norwegian village, is known as “the little thunderbolt” for her fearless, full-speed-ahead approach to life. Her best friend is gruff Gunnvald, her aging godfather, who adores Astrid. The feeling is mutual. But a mysterious letter sends Gunnvald into a moody spiral, and then he breaks his leg. In the aftermath, Gunnvald’s adult daughter Heidi appears. Heidi is angry at her father, and he at her, for what they each see as abandonment by the other. Heidi’s mother left her with Gunnvald when she was four, returning eight years later to take her away. The pain of that separation is still raw and real for them both. Astrid is hurt and confused that Gunnvald could have abandoned his child—it’s clear that he never tried to contact Heidi after she left. And Astrid wants to hate Heidi for planning to sell Gunnvald’s farm to Klaus Hagen, owner of the local wellness retreat and hater of children in general and Astrid in particular. But she can’t ignore what she knows about Gunnvald, and what she learns about Heidi. So Astrid hatches a plan, and then another, in hopes of changing Heidi’s mind, and, eventually Gunnvald’s and Heidi’s hearts, in this funny and moving translated novel. (Ages 8–12)

Astrid Glimmerdahl, known around her Norwegian village where she is the only child as “the little thunderbolt,” spends her days perfecting her skiing somersault and building a special sled with Gunnvald, a curmudgeonly septuagenarian who is also her best friend. When three young children arrive in town and Gunnvald's estranged daughter returns from abroad, Astrid's spunk and tenacity bring together a cast of quirky yet lovable characters. Reminiscent of Nordic figures Pippi Longstocking and Heidi, Astrid is a charming and brave heroine.

USBBY 2019 Outstanding International Books List, Brage Prize for Best Children's Book, Norwegian Critics Prize.

Author lives in Norway.

Norwegian. Originally published in Oslo, Norway as Tonje Glimmerdal by Det Norske Samlaget in 2009. English translation by Guy Puzey published in the United States by Candlewick Press in 2018.

Pippi Longstocking meets Heidi meets Anne Shirley in this tale of an irrepressible girl in a mountain village who navigates unexpected changes with warmth and humor.

Speed and self-confidence, that’s Astrid’s motto. Nicknamed “the little thunderbolt,” she loves to spend her days racing down the hillside on her sled, singing loudly as she goes, and visiting Gunnvald, her grumpy, septuagenarian best friend and godfather, who makes hot chocolate from real chocolate bars. She just wishes there were other children to share her hair-raising adventures with. But Astrid’s world is about to be turned upside down by two startling arrivals to the village of Glimmerdal: first a new family, then a mysterious, towering woman who everyone seems to know but Astrid. It turns out that Gunnvald has been keeping a big secret from his goddaughter, one that will test their friendship to its limits. Astrid is not too happy about some of these upheavals in Glimmerdal — but, luckily, she has a plan to set things right.