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The Accidental Vikings
- Author
- Karen McCombie
- Narrator
- Joe Pitts
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 15 January 2026
- Run Time
- 1 hour 4 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
What to expect
Alfie and Kat’s school trip takes an unexpected turn when they’re whisked back to a Viking village in this exciting time-slip adventure from bestselling author Karen McCombie.
Things take a weird turn for Alfie and Kat when they get separated from the rest of their group on a school trip to the Viking Museum. The models around them start to come to life, and at first Kat is sure they’re being pranked for a TV game show.
She urges Alfie to play along, and they take part in Viking village life – cooking, weaving and even digging a toilet pit. But will they ever be able to find their way back home?
Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.
Critics Review
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"Aberdonian author McCombie's dyslexia-friendly, time slip adventure — aimed at those with a reading age of seven and upwards — is a triumph." — The Courier
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"McCombie’s all-action and highly imaginative time-slip romp … speaks volumes to children about unlikely friendships and the long history of diversity in Britain. With its strong curriculum links, and the clever balance of fascinating facts about Viking culture with McCombie’s rich and engrossing storytelling, The Accidental Vikings is published in Barrington Stoke’s dyslexia-friendly format and ideal for use in the classroom." – Wigan Observer
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"In this fun and accessible timeslip adventure, two classmates, Alfie and Kat, find themselves thrown back to the Viking era while on a school trip to the Viking Museum … Facts about life in Viking Britain are vividly drawn and the children's culture shock is very amusing. But the stakes are raised when 11-year-old Kat comes close to being married off to battle-hungry Gorm. Will they be able to find their way back to the present before it's too late?" – Juno
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"This time-travelling adventure packs in many facts about Viking life into a slim volume…Presented in a dyslexia-friendly format, with space around the text and illustrations throughout, this is a very readable adventure." – BookTrust
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"A thrilling historical, time-slip adventure … Kat and Alfie experience life in Viking Britain firsthand, dispelling some common misconceptions along the way (no, Vikings don’t wear helmets with horns). Settlements, longhouses, families, language, food, the class system and even toilets are clearly depicted within a great adventure. The history of multi-cultural Britain is explored through the Danes, English, and other travellers from all over the world." — Scope for Imagination, blog
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Details
- Author
- Karen McCombie
- Narrator
- Joe Pitts
- Duration
- 1 hour 4 minutes
- Release Date
- 15 January 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008806736
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction and true stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: School stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Historical fiction
Synopsis
Alfie and Kat’s school trip takes an unexpected turn when they’re whisked back to a Viking village in this exciting time-slip adventure from bestselling author Karen McCombie. Things take a weird turn for Alfie and Kat when they get separated from the rest of their group on a school trip to the Viking Museum. The models around them start to come to life, and at first Kat is sure they’re being pranked for a TV game show. She urges Alfie to play along, and they take part in Viking village life – cooking, weaving and even digging a toilet pit. But will they ever be able to find their way back home? Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.
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