Viking Longship

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Be a fly on the wall in the time of the Vikings.

Watch skilful ship builders at work, charge into battle, visit a Viking farmstead, enjoy the hustle and bustle of Jorvik on market day and listen to fireside tales about the Viking gods ? you can even wipe a tear from your eye at a Viking funeral!

These pages are packed full of up-to-date information about Viking life from the latest archaeological discoveries. With drawings, notes, wood shavings, straw, wolf fur and axe marks, this book shows you history as it really happened!

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Who were the Vikings? 'Viking' was originally a name given to the sea-pirates from the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In 793 AD, Viking pirates raided the monastery at Lindisfarne. The Christian monks were the only people writing books in those days, and they were horrified. They described all Vikings as bloodthirsty barbarians, although Vikings were probably no more violent than the Saxons and other peoples of the age. At this time England was divided into many small kingdoms and their Anglo-Saxon kings fought one another for power. England was a Christian country, but the Saxons had once worshipped the same pagan gods as the Vikings. As they became more organised Vikings grouped together, sailing and exploring further. Waves of Vikings colonised parts of England, Scotland, Ireland and Europe in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. Their major settlement in England was the town of Jorvik (York). Other Vikings sailed east, settling in parts of Russia. They traded and raided as far south as the Byzantine Empire. Others migrated north, colonising Iceland and Greenland - some Vikings even went on to discover North America. So Vikings were much more than pirates - they were skilful boat-builders, sailors, explorers, traders, craftsmen, clever farmers and poets. Excerpted from Viking Longship by Mick Manning, Brita Granström, R. A. Hall All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

This entry in the Fly on the Wall series introduces Viking times, here following a cast of fictional, ninth-century Viking characters through their experiences on land and sea, blending story and facts. Each topical spread, designed to resemble leaves from a sketchbook, features an animated, if somewhat chaotic, mix of lively, descriptive prose, dialogue, and captions; handwritten and print type; and colorful, cartoon-style watercolors. Brief facts run across the bottom edges of the pages. Quieter moments of shipbuilding or preparing meals contrast with more violent episodes, such as a church raid and battles, though none are graphically depicted. Also covered are clothing, language, diets (a bread recipe is included), women's lives, myths, gods, and funeral rites. Though the main focus here is on what and how rather than why Vikings did what they did, some historical background is provided in an introduction and endnote. A glossary is appended.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2007 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Smiling faces aplenty in the scribbly, informal cartoon illustrations give this quick once-over a lighthearted air at odds, sometimes, with what the snippets of text are describing. The authors follow the career of a ninth-century Viking ship as it carries loot and slaves from an Irish monastery into a disastrous storm, is bought and repaired by two young warriors who join the Viking Great Army to invade England and years later is burned as a burial sacrifice after a Saxon raid. A spatter of what looks like real blood on one page aside, the nonviolent pictures show Vikings preparing for battle (rather than actually fighting) or, more often, working and celebrating with their families--surrounded by general printed or hand-lettered comments on the level of "The Viking gods live in a place called Asgard," and "Viking children didn't go to school. They learned skills from their family and friends." Though closing with a dab of later history and a combined glossary/index, this is too superficial for assignment use, but it might lead readers to more rousing treatments, such as Susan Margeson's Eyewitness Viking (2005). (Nonfiction. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.