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Topic: Vikings

This book describes how the Vikings invaded and conquered much of Britain, and voyaged far and wide. Viking longships, raids and fighting style are all explored, alongside their beliefs and ways of life, to build up a true picture of these most famous invaders. The book concludes with a look at the Vikings’ legacy in Britain today.

Illustrated with a mix of illustrations and found objects, each book in the series describes a famous civilisation, its customs and organisations, how it began and expanded, and its eventual decline.

Coffin-stealing. Boat-burning. Telling whopping lies. Carla’s crazy plan includes them all! Carla’s grandpa has died – but he’s left her a letter telling her about his secret dream. Now it’s up to Carla to give him his last dying wish: a Viking funeral. To make it happen she’ll have to break the law, and every rule she’s ever known. But it’s worth it to send him off in a blaze of glory. Sometimes you have to do what’s wrong to do what’s right…

Alfie is like any other nearly teenage boy – except he’s a thousand years old and can remember the last Viking invasion of England. When Alfie finds himself alone in the world following the death of his mother, he has to learn to trust newly found friends if he is going to succeed on his quest to grow old naturally.

Older primary children will enjoy this compelling and thoughtful race against time by Ross Welford. With moments of laugh-out-loud humour, heartbreaking grief and high-octane action, this is a touching, truly unforgettable story of finding friendship and acceptance.

A teaching resource pack is also available to download.

A hoard of information about the Vikings, including aspects of their history, culture, mythology and legacy.

Author Jack Tite digs deep into the topic to find the most interesting snippets of information, presented alongside stylised graphic illustrations and fold-out pages that give the pages an extra wow-factor, enabling an impressive tree of life diagram on one page, a lengthy longboat diagram on another and a detailed timeline on another still.

Highly recommended!

Chapter book
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She Wolf is a Viking adventure story set in the cold, harsh winter of Northumbria, AD 866. Ylva (pronounced eel-va) witnesses her mother’s tragic death, which instigates her hunger for revenge – after all, that is the Viking way. Her target: the three-fingered man. Ylva has been taught to survive; no crying will do and with the Norse Gods on her side, she knows she doesn’t need anyone else to help.

The twists and turns along the way make this an edge-of-your-seat kind of story through which the reader learns just as much as Ylva does. The descriptions in the book put you right there in the thick of it with the characters, and when a story involves survival against wolves, bears and brutal hunters.

More suitable for mature KS2 readers, there is no doubt that this is a master class in Viking culture, drama and suspense. Sheer brilliance from Dan Smith.

Set in the Viking era, The Chessmen Thief is an intriguing tale of 12-year-old Kylan’s quest to return to his mother, having been captured by Norsemen when he was just 7 years old. The Lewis Chessmen – which his master reluctantly let him help carve – are his only hope. However, great craftsmanship gains attention, including that of Sven Asleifsson, a cruel and barbaric Viking known throughout the realm.

Based on the real-life Lewis Chessmen (a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis), The Chessmen Thief is a great addition to existing Vikings-themed booklists and a suitable choice for all year groups across Key Stage 2. Barbara Henderson has carefully crafted the plot around the chess motif, and the story is not overwhelmed with action and gore, as can often be the case with books written about this era. 

The book would particularly complement history topics for those teaching in Scotland, providing opportunities to find out about the Viking era closer to home.

Erik the Viking and his crew set sail on a quest aboard the great ship Golden Dragon. Along their way they will encounter monsters, magic and mythical creatures. This is an exciting adventure written in the style of the original Viking sagas and is excellent for reading out loud. The story won the Children’s Book Award in 1984 and includes colour illustrations by Michael Foreman.

A popular choice in KS2 classrooms. The action-packed narrative follows the story of Gunnar, the son of a Viking chief, as he sets out to avenge his father’s death after an attack by rival raiders.

In Tony Bradman’s trademark style, this well-researched story combines elements of history and mythology. This is a gripping story that brings the gruesome Viking period to life with all of its peril and gore.

This highly appealing text is a graphic-novel-style picturebook.

It follows the story of young Arthur, who embarks upon a quest to seek out the help of the Viking gods in relighting a fire before the villagers back home freeze to death. In return for their help, Thor sets his own quest for Arthur to complete.

A highly engaging book that offers an introduction to Norse mythology.

Get stuck into the fascinating world of the Vikings with Marcia Williams‘ comic-style history of the Norse invaders and settlers.

The historic tales are retold in a comic book style, with speech bubbles and many humorous details in both the text and illustrations that pupils will love. Encounter stories of raids, voyages, gods, monsters and fearsome warriors.

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