Vikings

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

	By Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire, D’Aulaire’s Norse Myths (New York Review Children’s Collection, 2005) is a wonderful collection of classic stories about both the great and the lesser-known Norse gods, goddesses, and hangers-on. The illustrations are spectacular. For ages 5-12.
	Donna Jo Napoli’s Treasury of Norse Mythology (National Geographic, 2017) is a gorgeously illustrated collection for ages 8-12.
	Heather Alexander’s A Child’s Introduction to Norse Mythology (Black Dog & Levanthal, 2018) includes a Norse family tree, a guide to pronunciation, and a creatively designed overview of the Norse gods and goddesses and their stories. For ages 9-12.
	By archaeologist Graeme Davis, Thor: The Viking God of Thunder (Osprey Publishing, 2013) is an excellent collection of Norse myths and legends about the Viking god who battles trolls and giants with Mjolnir, his mighty hammer, and who rides to war in a chariot pulled by goats. For ages 10 and up.
	Padraic Colum’s The Children of Odin (Aladdin, 2004) divides the classical Norse myths into four parts: “The Dwellers in Asgard,” “Odin the Wanderer,” “The Witch’s Heart,” and “The Sword of the Volsungs and the Twilight of the Gods.” For ages 10 and up.
	Nancy Marie Brown’s Song of the Vikings (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) is the story of chieftain and storyteller Snorri Sturluson, the source of Viking lore and legends for all of Western literature. Richard Wagner and J.R.R. Tolkien owe him. For teens and adults.
	Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology (W.W. Norton, 2017) is a masterful introduction to the Norse pantheon and tales. For teens and adults.
	Renowned artist Walter Simonson’s graphic novel The Mighty Thor (Marvel, 2013), starring the superhero that he made famous, combines a great story with terrific pictures. Many equally wonderful sequels. For ages 9 and up.
	In the film Thor: The God of Thunder (2011), Thor – after some unauthorized meddling with the Frost Giants – is punished by being tossed out of Asgard and sent to Earth. There he falls in love with scientist Jane Foster and saves his new home from the Destroyer, sent by Loki to kill Thor. He also saves Asgard from invading Frost Giants. (Walter Simonson has a short, but impressive, appearance in the final banquet scene). Rated PG-13.
	Also see the sequel, Thor: The Dark World (2013).
	For the picky, check out 8 Things Marvel Got Wrong About Thor and Norse Mythology.
	Norse Mythology covers Viking myths, the Viking creation story, Yggdrasil the World Tree, Ragnarok, and the Norse gods, goddesses, and other supernatural beings.
	For more resources, see Mythology.

VIKINGS AND MATH

	In Cindy Neuschwander’s Sir Cumference and the Viking’s Map (Charlesbridge, 2012), cousins Per and Radius find a mysterious treasure map belonging to Viking warrior Xaxon Yellowbearyd. To decode it, they need to understand coordinate graphing. One of the Math Adventures series starring a host of math-y medieval characters for ages 8-12.
	Viking Math is a short collection of Viking-themed word problems, variously involving scaling monastery walls, burning English huts, indulging in blood feuds, and fleeing, at different speeds, in longships.
	An Investigation into Viking Mathematics is an essay on the mathematical peculiarities of Viking chain mail.
	Vikings Brainstorm is a puzzle board game in which players attempt to navigate their longships through a storm at sea. An exercise in strategy and creative thinking for ages 6 and up.