Erik Vs. Everything

Starred review from June 21, 2021
Much to the consternation of his boisterous white Connecticut family, which adheres to a collection of Viking family advice known as “the Lore,” nine-year-old Erik Sheepflattener’s motto is “AVOID STUFF. Or maybe just the word NO.” Though the rest of the Sheepflatteners don’t seem to experience fear, Erik worries about everything from piano lessons to team sports to the possibility of squirrels under his bed. While spending the summer with rambunctious cousins in Minnesota, Erik’s strong-willed older sister Brunhilde—who loves to quote Churchill’s wartime speeches and channels “her ancestral Viking spirit” —helps Erik conquer his fears by naming and testing each one. Anxious Erik is naturally unenthusiastic about this plan, especially the possibility of utilizing exposure therapy, but has trouble standing up for himself. As the tests proceed, however (including a mountain bike race down Bonebreaker Hill), he finds value in understanding his specific fears and even learns coping skills, such as deep breathing. This riotous second novel by Uss (The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle), interlaced with quotes from the Lore and a toddler’s edition of The Art of War, overflows with rollicking scenes of Viking-inspired mayhem and droll dialogue without forgoing respect for the difficulties wrought by Erik’s anxiety. Ages 8–12. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary.

August 1, 2021

Gr 3-7-Fourth grader Erik Sheepflattener comes from a big, tough, and very brave family rooted in Viking traditions. Erik does not fit in physically or characteristically with his family; as a matter of fact, he is afraid of almost everything. Erik fears school, piano lessons, baseball practice, and squirrels-he is even afraid to talk about his fears. Erik would rather stay home and read his comic books rather than try anything that could cause him embarrassment or harm. This all changes when Erik and his sisters visit extended family in Minnesota to help with toddler triplets. Erik reluctantly joins the Lake Park All-Stars Mountain Bike Team and begins training for a race down Bonebreaker Hill. With the help of his sister Brunhilde and her library copy of The Art of War, Erik learns that facing fears can help make the scary things a bit less scary. Readers follow Erik as he learns the skills he needs to fall down and not get hurt. This story has a fun cast of characters, all with their own strengths and personality quirks. The book chapters all begin with familiar proverbs that stem from Norse and Danish traditions, and are explained at the end of the story in the "Sources for Quotations" section. This story takes family lore and traditions and blends them with modern tips and tricks to tackle life. It is a fun, uplifting, and often laugh-out-loud story. Erik's family is cued as white. VERDICT A great addition to any elementary and even middle school library with a lesson on determination, taking risks, and family values.-Christina Pesiri, Island Trees H.S., Levittown, NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2021
The Sheepflattener clan fearlessly follow ancestral Viking traditions set down in the Lore, except for Erik, 9, whose default response to challenges and invitations is to invoke his life philosophy, "AVOID STUFF." Sent to help babysit his triplet cousins in Minnesota, Erik's relieved to escape piano lessons with Mrs. Loathcraft but nervous when the fiercer of his two older sisters, ax-wielding Brunhilde, decides to accompany him. Like his parents, the hearty, outdoors-fancying Minnesota Vikings prove deaf to Erik's fears. Forced to fish with his bare hands, he's mauled by a large pike; then Mr. Nubbins, the family pet, activates Erik's squirrel phobia. Erik's meltdowns inspire Brunhilde to help him tackle his fears head-on. Determining their scope, she studies strategies to conquer them, like exposure therapy, and implements breathing exercises, supplementing the Lore's wisdom with the library's TheBig Book of Fear and Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Seeking a comprehensive picture of Erik's dizzying array of phobias, Brunhilde constructs an ingenious diorama, using her mapmaking skills and Lego bricks. As the project progresses, Erik finds himself drawn into a multiage biking club soon to race Bonebreaker Hill. Unable to empathize with Erik's anxieties, Brunhilde recognizes they must be vanquished; conquering is a concept the Scandinavian-ancestry-worshipping, rune-tattooed Sheepflatteners embrace. Fond of aggressive sports and a turnip-heavy diet, short on nuance, long on family loyalty, they're portrayed with sly, affectionate humor. Erik's anxieties are presented lightly but sensitively. A quirky delight. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from July 1, 2021
Grades 3-5 *Starred Review* Nine-year-old Erik Sheepflattener isn't exactly panphobic, but he is terrified of a lot of things from sports to squirrels--not, you would think, a good fit in a clan that has so proudly carried its Viking ethos into the present day that the adults tattoo inspirational runes like TROUNCE on their arms. While his one teenage sister, Allyson, leads a champion cheerleading squad ("Two, four, six, eight! Who do we eviscerate?"), her axe-wielding twin Brunhilde has firmly devoted herself to "helping" Erik face his fears as her newest "Let's Conquer This" project. Brunhilde turns out to be a canny strategist (it doesn't hurt that she's using Sun Tzu's The Art of War as a guide) and, in this funny and perceptive tale, proves that she knows just when to push and when to let her timorous little brother take his own hesitant steps. Despite being so on edge that he screams every time the telephone rings, Erik's not a total wimp, as he shows by pitching in to, for instance, help tend to a trio of newborn cousins. His hero's journey climaxes in a mountain biking event aptly dubbed (he discovers after signing up) "Race Down Bonebreaker Hill," and readers will enjoy cheering him on as much as they will delight in the antics of his loving, Wagnerian extended family.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2021
Nine-year-old Erik Sheepflattener is a descendant of Vikings. Family members sport rune tattoos and keep a weapons closet full of daggers, clubs, and armor. His older sister Brunhilde wields a mean battle-axe and says things like "by Valhalla's rafters, I am hungry"; her twin, Allyson, though more into pompoms and cheerleading, is equally strong and fierce. Many a meal in the Sheepflattener household consists of "fish hunks, fish chunks, fish lumps, and mutton." Erik, however, doesn't fit in. He's scared of everything: "School buses. Running squirrels. Crouching squirrels. Squirrels in trees. Squirrels under beds...Every kind of ball. Having things thrown at you. Having things yelled at you." He hides under furniture and sleeps under the bed. So when the Sheepflattener siblings are shipped off from Connecticut to Minnesota to assist Uncle Bjorn and Aunt Hilda with their new triplets, Erik dreads the trip. But Brunhilde channels her Viking spirit into helping Erik conquer his fears, especially his sciurophobia (fear of squirrels). Real progress comes when Erik joins a mountain biking team and succeeds in finishing a monster race, even if he does cross the finish line toting his bike. The long cycling scene will appeal to all who love well-told sports action. Once again, Uss (The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle, rev. 7/18; The Colossus of Roads, rev. 7/20) delivers a story carried by well-developed characters, plenty of dialogue, and humor. Dean Schneider

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021
Nine-year-old Erik Sheepflattener is a descendant of Vikings. Family members sport rune tattoos and keep a weapons closet full of daggers, clubs, and armor. His older sister Brunhilde wields a mean battle-axe and says things like "by Valhalla's rafters, I am hungry"; her twin, Allyson, though more into pompoms and cheerleading, is equally strong and fierce. Many a meal in the Sheepflattener household consists of "fish hunks, fish chunks, fish lumps, and mutton." Erik, however, doesn't fit in. He's scared of everything: "School buses. Running squirrels. Crouching squirrels. Squirrels in trees. Squirrels under beds...Every kind of ball. Having things thrown at you. Having things yelled at you." He hides under furniture and sleeps under the bed. So when the Sheepflattener siblings are shipped off from Connecticut to Minnesota to assist Uncle Bjorn and Aunt Hilda with their new triplets, Erik dreads the trip. But Brunhilde channels her Viking spirit into helping Erik conquer his fears, especially his sciurophobia (fear of squirrels). Real progress comes when Erik joins a mountain biking team and succeeds in finishing a monster race, even if he does cross the finish line toting his bike. The long cycling scene will appeal to all who love well-told sports action. Once again, Uss (The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle, rev. 7/18; The Colossus of Roads, rev. 7/20) delivers a story carried by well-developed characters, plenty of dialogue, and humor.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)