Shannon Knudsen has written books for young readers about elephants, mayors, the explorer Leif Eriksen, the reporter Nellie Bly, and many other topics. She lives with her cat and her dog in Arizona.

As a young man growing up in Greenland, Leif Ericsson had heard stories about a land to the west across the Atlantic Ocean. One day, he gathered a crew and set off to explore the land himself. He landed at three different places, finally settling at "Vinland", now Newfoundland, Canada, for the winter. When he returned home, he became a hero, and inspired many other Vikings to explore the new world.