by Joan Holub
Alfheim:
World on the first (top) ring where light-elves live
Angerboda:
Loki’s giantess wife whose name means “distress-bringer” (angry Asgard Academy student and girlgiant)
Asgard:
World on the first (top) ring where Aesir goddesses and gods live
Balder:
Beloved Aesir god of peace and light whose skin glows (popular Asgard Academy student and boygod)
Bifrost Bridge:
Red, blue, and green rainbow bridge built by the Aesir from fire, air, and water
Breidablik Hall:
Hall of the Norse god Balder (boys’ dorm at Asgard Academy)
Brising:
Freya’s necklace, shortened from Brísingamen (Freya’s magic jewel)
Darkalfheim:
World on the second (middle) ring where dwarfs live
Dwarfs:
Short blacksmiths in Darkalfheim (some young dwarfs attend Asgard Academy)
Fire giants:
Terrifying giants that live in Muspelheim
Frey:
Vanir god of agriculture and fertility whose name is sometimes spelled Freyr, brother of Freya (Freya’s twin brother and Asgard Academy student and boygod)
Freya:
Vanir goddess of love and fertility (Vanir girlgoddess of love and beauty who is an Asgard Academy student)
Frigg:
Goddess of marriage, who is Odin’s wife (coprincipal of Asgard Academy with Odin)
Frost giants:
Descendants of Ymir from Jotunheim
Gladsheim Hall:
Sanctuary where twelve Norse gods hold meetings (Asgard Academy’s assembly hall)
Gullveig:
Vanir sorceress (Freya and Frey’s nanny and library assistant at the Heartwood Library)
Hangerock:
Sleeveless apronlike dress, with shoulder straps that are fastened in front by clasps, that is worn over a long-sleeved linen shift
Heimdall:
Watchman of the gods (security guard at Asgard Academy)
Helheim:
World on the third (bottom) ring inhabited by the some of the dead and ruled by a female monster named Hel
Hugin:
One of Odin’s two ravens whose name means “thought”
Idun:
Aesir goddess who is the keeper of the golden apples of youth (Asgard Academy student and girlgoddess)
Jotun:
Norse word for “giant”
Jotunheim:
World on the second (middle) ring where frost giants live
Light-elves:
Happy Asgard Academy students from Alfheim
Loki:
Troublemaking, shape-shifting god of fire (Asgard Academy student and boygod)
Midgard:
World on the second (middle) ring where humans live
Mimir:
Wise Aesir god who was beheaded and revived by Odin (“head” librarian at Asgard Academy)
Mjollnir:
Mighty hammer made for Thor
Munin:
One of Odin’s two ravens whose name means “memory”
Muspelheim:
World on the third (bottom) ring where fire giants live
Nidhogg:
Dragon that lives in Niflheim and gnaws at the root of the World Tree
Niflheim:
World on the third (bottom) ring where the good dead are sent
Njord:
Vanir god of the sea sent to Asgard after the Aesir-Vanir war (Asgard Academy student and boygod from Vanaheim)
Norse:
Related to the ancient people of Scandinavia, a region in Northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and sometimes Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands
Odin:
Powerful Norse god of war, wisdom, and poetry who watches over all nine worlds (coprincipal of Asgard Academy with his wife, Ms. Frigg)
Ragnarok:
Prophesied doomsday when goddesses and gods will fight a fiery battle against evil that could destroy all nine Norse worlds
Ratatosk:
Squirrel that runs up and down Yggdrasil spreading gossip and insults
Sif:
Golden-haired goddess of the harvest (Asgard Academy student and girlgoddess)
Skade:
Goddess of skiing, sometimes spelled Skadi (Asgard Academy student and half-giant girl)
Skidbladnir:
Magical ship made as a gift for Frey
Skrymir:
A frost giant in Jotunheim who can create magical illusions and likes to annoy the Norse gods
Snorri Sturluson:
Author of a famous book about Norse History called the Prose Edda (Norse History teacher at Asgard Academy)
Surt:
A warrior fire giant from Muspelheim who wields a fiery sword and will one day lead the battle of Ragnarok against the Norse gods
Thor:
Superstrong Norse god of thunder and storms (Asgard Academy student and boygod)
Ull:
Norse god associated with archery and snow skiing (Asgard Academy student and boygod)
Valhalla:
Huge room in Asgard where dead warriors feast and fight (Valhallateria is Asgard Academy’s cafeteria)
Valkyries:
Warrior maidens in winged helmets who choose which warriors will die in battle and then bring them to Valhalla (cafeteria ladies and workers in Asgard Academy’s Valhallateria)
Vanaheim:
World on the first (top) ring where Vanir goddesses and gods live
Vanir:
Norse goddesses and gods who live in Vanaheim
Vingolf Hall:
Goddesses’ meeting hall at Asgard (girls’ dorm at Asgard Academy)
Yggdrasil:
Enormous ash tree that links all nine ancient Norse worlds, also called the World Tree (location of Asgard Academy)
Ymir:
Very first frost giant whose body parts were used to create the Norse cosmos, including mountains, the sea, and the heavens
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition March 2020
Text copyright © 2020 by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Julio Cesar
Interior illustration of tree copyright © 2019 by Elan Harris
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
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Designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena
Library of Congress Control Number 2019948051
ISBN 978-1-4814-9649-0 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-9648-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-9650-6 (eBook)
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