Norse Books

D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths

Ingri D'Aulaire

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The greatest book in existence. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book, the text, and the illustrations inside are the sole key to happiness. If you buy this book, open it, and are not immediately happy, then you're a God damn Communist.


God Bless America, and God Bless D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths.

Greatness! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Along with D'Aulaire's Greek Myths, I checked this book out of the library every week. I absolutely adored looking at the pictures and reading the stories. A great, colorful book for any kid.

Editorial Review:

The Norse myths are some of the greatest stories of all time. Weird monsters, thoroughly human gods, elves and sprites and gnomes, with grim giants nursing ancient grudges lurking behind—the mysterious and entrancing world of Norse myth comes alive in these pages thanks to the spellbinding storytelling and spectacular pictures of the incomparable d'Aulairse. In this classic book, the art of the Caldecott Award—winning authors of d'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, a longtime favorite of children and parent, reaches one of its pinnacles. It offers a way into a world of fantasy and struggle and charm that has served as inspiration for Marvel Comics and the Lord of the Rings.

Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Putnam Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $2.27

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Brett, Jan

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Winter Bloom 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

What a marvel of a book! Jan Brett has an incredibly detailed and colorful style a la Michael Hague. In this book, each illustration is presented as a triptych: the middle panel represents the text, and the side panels present what is happening meanwhile with the other characters. Very neat trick.

I like that there is not TOO much text on each page, and there is a lovely repetitive cadence to the storytelling.

Although this is a good book to use in initiating learning about Scandinavia, it evokes the Arctic in general. As someone who lived in Alaska for many years and had the good fortune to see the Northern Lights and breathe the crisp frigid air until my nose hairs froze, I endorse Brett's artistic expression of the Far North completely.

This is a good family read for mixed-age children if the older ones liked "The Golden Compass" or "Julie of the Wolves". Children who like this book may also enjoy the gigantic "Gnomes" books full of Scandinavian lore.

Editorial Review:

Every year, trolls knock down Kyri's door and gobble up her Christmas feast. But this year, the trolls are in for a surprise: a boy and his pet ice bear on their way to Oslo have come in from the cold. And once the ice bear is finished with the trolls, you can bet they won't come knocking next Christmas Eve!

Once again, Jan Brett creates an original Christmas story full of warmth and magic. Featuring beautiful borders, intricate illustrations, and a stunning display of the Northern Lights, Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? will rightfully take its place among Jan's Christmas favorites with the whole family.

D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls (New York Review Children's Collection)

Ingri D'Aulaire, Edgar D'Aulaire

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: NYR Children's Collection for ages 7-12 Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $10.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Roll with the Troll 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

A great read filled with colorful illustrations & all the usual excitement you'd expect to find in a troll adventure. Of course, there is also a beautiful princess to be rescued. I don't know why Amazon lists the reading level as "baby, pre-school"!!! No baby or pre-schooler would sit through the first page. Maybe the illustrations would interest that group, but the amount of reading is far too lengthy. As a "read alone" book, I would say it is best suited for grades 3 and up.

Editorial Review:

In this spectacular follow-up to their beloved Book of Norse Myths, the husband-and-wife team of Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire explore the uncanny reaches of Norse mythology, an enchanted night-world populated by trolls of all kinds—mountain trolls, forest trolls, trolls who live underwater and trolls who live under bridges, uncouth, unkempt, unbreakable, unforgettable, and invariably unbelievably ugly trolls—who work their wiles and carry on in the most bizarre and entertaining fashions.

With their matchless talent as storytellers and illustrators, the d’Aulaires bring to life the weird and wonderful world of Norse mythology.

The Sea of Trolls

Nancy Farmer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Three time Newbery honor author Nancy Farmer's epic fantasy, The Sea of Trolls, is gigantic in every way. There are big Vikings and bigger trolls. There are big themes--hope, despair, life and death. At a substantial 450+ pages, the sheer size of this hefty tome is impressive. But, like all of Farmer's fine work, the large scale has room for enormous quantities of heart and humor. At the center of this massive adventure is a small Saxon boy named Jack, who's never been much good at anything until the Bard of his medieval village makes him an apprentice. Then, just as Jack is learning to tap into and control his power, he is kidnapped (along with his little sister, Lucy) and taken to the court of King Ivar the Boneless and his half troll queen Frith. When one of Jack's amateur spells causes the evil queen's beautiful hair to fall out, he is forced to undertake a dangerous quest across the Sea of Trolls to make things right, or suffer the consequences--the sacrifice of his beloved sister to Frith's patron goddess, Freya. Along the way Jack faces everything from giant golden troll-bears to man-eating spiders, yet each frightening encounter brings wisdom and understanding to the budding young Bard. No quester who enters these pages with Jack will go away unsatisfied. Farmer's skillful melding of history, mythology, and humor, is reminiscent of both Tamora Pierce and Terry Pratchett's medieval fantasies, and will no doubt be HUGELY enjoyed by fantasy readers of all ages. --Jennifer Hubert

The Strongbow Saga, Book Three: The Road to Vengeance (The Strongbow Saga)

Judson Roberts

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

More than skin deep..... 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Judson Roberts really steps it up a notch in this third exciting addition to the Strongbow saga. As Halfdan continues to prove himself as a skilled warrior, he also struggles with a lot of inner turmoil on his road to vengeance. The issues that are brought up over honor and duty really push Halfdan into the developed strong character we saw in the first book. He is more than a superb archer, and more than a killer. The line between right and wrong is not as clear in this book as Halfdan struggles to become a real man. I loved this third book, it is a big step up from the second one. After reading it in only two days, I felt it was good enough to deserve another five starred review. If you enjoy a good historical fiction, don't pass up this series. I highly recommend it. Judson Roberts is a brilliant writer with a strong background in the history. I think he even makes a reference to a Billie Holiday song, Strange Fruit in one of his chapters. I am a big fan of this author.

Editorial Review:

Halfdan Hroriksson is on the hunt.

Determined to find and fight his brother's killer, Halfdan knows he must first gain experience as a Viking warrior. He's been lucky so far. He gained passage on a ship and is quietly learning the strategies of war and conquest from the hardy crew. Now, with a prisoner in tow—the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat—Halfdan is finally starting to earn some respect, and a name for himself.

But he is not looking for praise. Halfdan is only biding his time, gaining strength and skill for his ultimate quest. Time and again he proves himself on the battlefield, using clever strategy and an uncanny talent with a bow and arrow. Halfdan is growing as a warrior, but will this be enough to beat a savage murderer?

Through epic battle scenes and intimate power struggles, Judson Roberts brings the Viking world to pulsing life in this next chapter of the Strongbow Saga.

The Strongbow Saga, Book Two: Dragons from the Sea (The Strongbow Saga)

Judson Roberts

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Breathless excitement! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is filled with suspense. I was exhausted by the end of it! I look forward to the next book. LONG LIVE HALFDAN!!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Strongbow Saga, Book Two: Dragons from the Sea
by Judson Roberts
Historical Fiction *****
This story is about a young man named Halfdan. He has a large past that is very painful for him. When he just turned 15, He and his half brother set off to show him his new inheritance, his own little bit of land. But only at the first night of being there, Toke, his half brother turns up wanting revenge for inheriting nothing. Toke is a berserk (someone who is crazy about killing) very mean and evil. Late at night he attacked the land and killed the innocent people of it while promising their safe exit, he wanted no one to tell of his treachery. Halfdan managed to get away with the sacrifice of his brother while making a path to let him escape. They needed someone to escape, so he could avenge them all. Now he is looking for a ship to serve in a port called Hedeby. He finds a Jarl who he impresses with his bow skills. The Jarl normally doesn't just anyone join his crew of vikings but he believes that the norns (the gods that weave everybody's life line)have sent the boy as a sign to him. Halfdan joins the crew that soon after leaves to the call of the king of the Danes. The king declares that they shall all go to war against the Franks, who had done the same thing to them many centuries ago. So with little experience at all Halfdan ventures to war.
This book sort of relates to this book that I read called Hatchet. It was a story about a boy who was 13 and he got lost in the wilderness with only his hatchet, and his will to live. It is actually a very powerful story because this boy is just doing well when all the sudden, something terrible happens to him and his new way of life, he had to start all over, just like Halfdan. So i guess they are sort of similar.
The author is a very talented writer for all I'm concerned. He really knows how to describe something without boring me to sleep. I loved his first strongbow saga book as well. He really brings the words alive and paint pictures in my mind. He is also very good at leaving you hanging at the end of the first and second of these books. Almost everyday for about a month I would ask my mom if this book had arrived in the mail. So about two days ago it actually did come, I've been reading 24/7 since then. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!! ******************************** !!!!!!KOOB SITH EVOL
*****

Editorial Review:

The thrilling Strongbow Saga continues with this fierce sequel chronicling the adventures of a young man learning the ways of the Viking warriors. As fifteen-year-old Halfdan embarks on a perilous mission in a foreign land, he shows signs of greatness. But will he live up to his family name, or die trying? Author and Viking expert Judson Roberts draws on his detailed knowledge of this bloody time and culture to bring a young hero's exploits to life.

The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths

Padraic Colum

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Odin's BEST 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

You will find not only Norse myths in this book, but Teutonic tales as well. The drawings are incredible, as in all children's books. Adults will not be disappointed with this one, and children will be pleased to hear the exciting stories within. A MUST have for Norse mythology book collectors. An oldie but GOODIE! Classic and captivating. What else can I say? . . . I'm buying another one incase I lose my present copy-THAT IS HOW GOOD IT IS! I also reccomend My Viking Book by Ruth Harshaw. Hard to find and quite old, but it is THE best children's book EVER! Don't miss either of them.

Editorial Review:

Before time as we know it began, gods and goddesses lived in the city of Asgard. Odin All Father crossed the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard. Thor defended Asgard with his mighty hammer. Mischievous Loki was constantly getting into trouble with the other gods, and dragons and giants walked free. This collection of Norse sagas retold by author Padraic Colum gives us a sense of that magical time when the world was filled with powers and wonders we can hardly imagine.

Runemarks

Joanne Harris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

NOT recommended for children--or anyone who loves! 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my 12-year-old daughter, who has read all of Tolkien and a lot of other fantasy series. She did not enjoy it and it's easy to see why. Runemarks follows in the footsteps of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials with caustic anti-clericalism. Monotheism, mysticism and prayer are ridiculed with grotesque imagery. Furthermore, every relationship in this book is founded on lies, distrust, and destructive behaviors. No one loves or is loved. It offers children an uncompromisingly bleak and muddled world view.

Editorial Review:

Seven o’clock on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the end of the world, and goblins had been at the cellar again. . . . Not that anyone would admit it was goblins. In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours–all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. The “ruinmark” she was born with on her palm proves it–and makes the other villagers fearful that she is a witch (though helpful in dealing with the goblins-in-the-cellar problem). But the mysterious traveler One-Eye sees Maddy’s mark not as a defect, but as a destiny. And Maddy will need every scrap of forbidden magic One-Eye can teach her if she is to survive that destiny.

The Land of the Silver Apples

Nancy Farmer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

THE CHILDREN

FROM THE SEA OF TROLLS

BRAVE THEIR WORST

NIGHTMARES -- UNDERGROUND.

Jack is amazed to have caused an earthquake. He is thirteen, after all, and only a bard-in-training. But his sister, Lucy, has been stolen by the Lady of the Lake; stolen a second time in her young life, as he learns to his terror. Caught between belief in the old gods and Christianity (790 AD, Britain), Jack calls upon his ash wood staff to subdue a passel of unruly monks, and, for his daring, ends up in a knucker hole. It is unforgettable -- for the boy and for readers -- as are the magical reappearance of the berserker Thorgil from a burial by moss; new characters Pega, a slave girl from Jack's village, and the eager-to-marry-her Bugaboo (a hobgoblin king); kelpies; yarthkins; and elves (not the enchanted sprites one would expect but the fallen angels of legend). Rarely does a sequel enlarge so brilliantly the world of the first story. Look for the conclusion in The Islands of the Blessed in 2009.

The Strongbow Saga, Book One: Viking Warrior (The Strongbow Saga)

Judson Roberts

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful New Series 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a great new series, and Halfdan Horikson is a vivid interesting character. Judson Roberts really has a good feel for the era, and the other characters are fairly well developed as well. Definitely worthwhile your time to pick this book up if you are interested in coming of age stories set in the past.

If you get past the beginnig its Great 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was pretty boring in the beginning but as it went on it got better and better. In the beginning nothing happens and there's tons and tons of filler, but later it gets interesting. There is still lots of filler throughout the book but it gets more and more exciting. He does a good job of geting you hooked at the end and then leaving you there. If you can manage around 100 pages of boredom you will get rewarded with tons of exciting and interesting stuff.
I wouldn't say this book is for everyone though I could see lots of people i know loving the beginning and hating the rest or just hating evrything together. I think its a great book so you should try it and if its not right for you try a difrent book.
If you do buy this book i suggest you by the second one too and if you like the first one at the end get the third one. I made the mistake buying one at a time and believe me the ends are Gigantic cliff hangers so you will want the next ones.

Editorial Review:

Ages 14 +