Vik-Shp-lst-art - 3/27/97 "Little Viking's Holiday Shopping List" by Gunnora Hallakarva. NOTE: See also the files: Norse-msg, V-Arts-and-A-art, Pennsic-gifts-msg, largess-ideas-msg, beyond-favors-msg, 12th-nite-msg, Yule-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THL Stefan li Rous mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: gunnora@bga.COM (Gunnora Hallakarva) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Little Viking's Holiday Shopping List Date: 27 Nov 1996 09:27:15 -0500 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 Hallakarva Herskerinde Edited by Mark S. Harris Vik-Shp-lst-art