Little Viking's Holiday Shopping List
Gunnora Hallakarva
gunnora at bga.com
Wed Nov 27 06:24:46 PST 1996
Heilsa, All.
Well, the season of Yule is almost upon us. The smell of evergreen is
already overwhelming the aromas of roasting turkey. And once again the
Viking Answer Lady brings to you a shopping list for your Yule gifts....
this time for the little (or even not-so-little) Vikings in your garth.
Here are my picks for Yule presents for Father Thor to tuck under the tree!
I recommend these books to adults as well as kids. There are frequently
better illustrations & photos of artifacts in the so-called "children's
books" that aren't found elsewhere, plus since these books are heavily
illustrated, they often are more faithful to the latest research than the
"grown-up" books, whose authors may not have taken the time to struggle with
that archaeological report in Swedish!
The best place I have located for finding children's books on Norse
mythology and the Vikings is the Children's History or Children's Mythology
section at your local used book store. Many times these books are
absolutely new books that were either overstocked or slightly damaged, but
which you pay much less than retail for. Of course, the full price on many
of these is quite affordable to begin with. This is an advantage for adults
wishing to learn more about the Vikings and Norse mythology: there is less
to read, it is information-dense, and the price is right... $4 to $10 per
book on the average.
Ashman, Iain. Make This Viking Settlement. Useborn Cut-Out Models Series.
London: Usborne. 1988. ISBN 0-7460-0257-2 (I paid $4.95 at Half Price Books).
[This book, plus scissors & glue, will become a OO/HO scale
model of a Viking village similar to the trading town of Hedeby.
One day when I have room to leave a fragile cardboard model set
up in a cabinet somewhere, I plan to build mine. Your kids will
enjoy building and playing with the village as well. I believe that
Usborn also has a Viking helmet in their Cut Out Series as well.]
Caselli, Giovanni. The Everday Life of a Viking Settler. The Everyday Life
Of... Series. New York: Peter Bedrick Books. 1992. ISBN 0-87226-104-2.
(Was $12.95 new).
[The story of a young boy named Egil, his everyday life and the
traveler's tales his Viking-trader father tells him. A fun book to
read to your little Vikings, also includes many illustrations showing
typical Viking life and costume.]
Chisholm, James and Struan Reid. Who Were The Vikings? Usborne Starting
Point History Series. London: Usborne. 1995. ISBN 0-7460-2038-4 ($4.95 new).
[This is a great little book that's crammed full of tiny, detailed
drawings
that you have to examine as closely as a "Where's Waldo?" book or
you'll miss really funny and educational stuff. This book answers
questions that kids *really* ask, like, "What kind of toilets did the
Vikings use, and why didn't they freeze their rumps off?" There are
also good line drawings of clothes, artifacts and activities. This
is the
second-best Viking book I recommend to childern and adults alike.]
Clare, John D., ed. The Vikings. Living History Series. New York:
Gulliver/Harcourt Brace & Co. 1992. ISBN 0-15-201309-1 ($9.00 new)
[This is a really good little book, and is tied for second place as my
favorite in this list.. All the illustrations are photos of
excellently
costumed people, equipped with either reproductions
of Viking artifacts or with extremely good reproductions. Children's
lives and activities are not overlooked in this book, as they all too
frequently are in some of the other children's books. My favorite
photo is a shot reconstructing Audr the Deep-Minded having her
house pillars put overboard to show where in Iceland she should land.]
Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Norse Myths. New York: Pantheon. 1980. ISBN
0-394-74846-8 (paperback) $16.00 from the Wireless catalog order #50818,
(800) 669-9999.
[This is an excellent beginning book for older children and adults
alike who want to learn about the myths and legends of the Norse.
The writing style is well-suited to reading the tales aloud to smaller
children as well. I highly recommend this book.]
Evans, Cheryl and Anne Millard. Usborne Illustrated Guide Norse Myths and
Legends. London: Usborne. 1986. ISBN 0-740-0010-3. ($7.95 new).
[While the illustrations owe much to fantasy role-playing games, the
information packed into this litle book is superb, and serves as an
excellent introduction to the Norse myths.]
Ganeri, Anita. Focus on Vikings. New York: Shooting Star Press. 1993.
ISBN 1-56924-036-1 ($2.98 at Half-Price Books).
[This is the Viking children's book that I actually *do* recommend
for children. It has OK pictures and good information, but also
includes neat art projects such as building a Viking helmet from
papier mache'.]
Geipel, John. Great Adventures of the Vikings. In Search of Lost Worlds
Series. Chicago: Rand McNally. 1977. ISBN 528-82204-7. ($2.98 at
Half-Price Books).
[A nice overview of the Vikings, including details about their ships
and a few selections from the sagas and history. Also has good
artist's reconstructions of Viking clothing and ships.]
Grant, John. An Introduction to Viking Mythology. Secaucus NJ: Chartwell.
1990. ISBN 1-55521-561-0. ($12.98 at Half-Price Books)
[This book is like a short encylopedia, arranged alphabetically by
subject, of the Norse gods, myths and heroes. It would be
excellent for a middle schhol age child, or to read aloud from
to younger children. Plus it's a handy reference for any adult's
bookshelf as well.]
Margeson, Susan. Viking. Eyewitness Books Series. New York: Alfred Knopf.
1994. ISBN 0-679-86002-9. (about $10.00).
[This is the best of the children's books about the Vikings that I
have found, and should be required reading for adults who belong to
medieval reenactment societies who want to have a Viking persona.
Not only is the book packed with photographs of tons of artifacts
and reconstructed items, the illustrations are photos of live people
who have very, very good costuming and equipment... good enough
to make me want to sharpen the old sword and go do a little raiding
of my own!]
Matthews, Rupert. Viking Explorers. Beginning History Series. New York:
Bookwright Press. 1990. ISBN 0-531-18346-7 ($4.98 at Half-Price Books)
[A very brief book that combines photos of actual artifacts with nice
artist's reconstructions to discuss the Vikings as seafarers, traders
and explorers.]
Roberts, Morgan J. Norse Gods and Heroes. Myths of the World Series. New
York: Metro Books. 1995. ISBN 1-56799-090-8. ($12.98 at Half-Price Books)
[This is another book for either older children, or to be read aloud to
younger kids. There are pictures on pretty much every page or two,
and the stories are told in clear language, not unlike Kevin
Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths. Again, good for kids or on an
adult's bookshelf.]
Ruland, Wilhelm. The Finest Legends of the Rhine. Bonn: Verlag Hoursch &
Bechstedt. (No Date, No ISBN)
[This little book was one my grandmother read to me. This is a
book to read aloud to your little ones, containing some Viking
materials such as "The Nibelungen Song" and "Siegfried," plus
several tales from the Rhine region set throughout the Middle Ages.]
Smith, A.G. Story of the Vikings Coloring Book. New York: Dover. 1988.
ISBN 0-486-25653-7 ($2.95 new)
[This coloring book is full of line drawings showing scenes of Viking
life, accompanied by a nice paragraph or two explaining each.
While your kids will enjoy it, buy a copy to keep for yourself as well.]
Dover also has an excellent coloring book featuring the Norse Myths, which
some miscreant has borrowed from my library and failed to return! If anyone
has the publishing/ordering info, I'd appreciate it if you'd post it to me
so I can get another copy or two! It is similar to the "Story of the
Vikings" coloring book above, but focuses on the Norse gods and their exploits.
Wassail and God Jul!
::GUNNORA::
Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde
===========================================
Ek eigi visa (th)ik hversu o(dh)lask Lofstirrlauf-Kruna
heldr hversu na Hersis-A(dh)al
More information about the Ansteorra
mailing list