Wednesday, December 2, 2015

The Vikings (Guts & Glory Series) by Ben Thompson –ESSENTIAL

Thompson, Ben The Vikings (Guts & Glory Series) 289 pgs. Little Brown, 2015. $17.00 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG Violence: PG13

This book features a series of short chapters on the exploits of a variety of vikings, loosely organized from ‘start’ to ‘finish’. Interspersed between these short bios are timelines, charts, illustrations, and fun and interesting facts. Examples include Turgreis the devil, Saint Olga of Kiev, and the Norman Conquest.

Wow for an essential rating that is a short and boring sounding description, right? Unless I could physically grab you and jump up and down and show my enthusiasm and push a copy of this book into your hands, I think words will fail me. This is like story time for people (big kids and grownups) that have forgotten how enthralling being read a story can be. Its vivid and hilarious, engaging, and cannot be put down. Bringing history to life in such way is a true gift. If all history books were this interesting, it would be every students favorite subject. I think the broader reading world history concepts, many of the humorous references, and the overall complexity would be enjoyed by middle school and up.  

MS, HS  –ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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