Leif Ericson won his nickname two times. As a boy in Iceland, he fell over a waterfall and landed safely on his feet. His friends called him "Leif the Lucky." Then, as a young man voyaging to Greenland, he rescued five men shipwrecked on a rock. The Vikings thought rescues at sea were very lucky.

Leif was lucky, too, to have such an adventurous life. Hunting with falcons, trading with Eskimos, meeting a king—these were exciting enough. But Leif also had a chance to sail west and explore new lands, as his father and grandfather had done. The wild, new country lived up to all his dreams. Fearlessly, he and his men built cabins in Vinland, which years later was rediscovered and renamed America.

Well-known for her children's stories, among them several on the Vikings, Erick Berry has traveled in both Norway and Iceland.

From the dust jacket