The best part about a chronological history is cycling around to the same topic but being able to go deeper. The first time we touched upon the Vikings as the first non-native peoples to sail to America. This time, we read books about Vikings as they fit into European Medieval history.
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Picture Books about Vikings
Leif the Lucky
I read this again to the 7 and 9 year olds, as they did not remember it from a few years ago! Here’s my review from back then.
D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths
You might notice that there are only a few picture books in this list… and this is a very long and wordy picture book. My kids enjoyed reading these stories of the Norse Myths, mainly on their own.
Early Elementary Chapter Books
Viking Adventure
I read this to my 7 and 9 year old kids. It’s an adventure story about Sigurd, a young Viking boy whose first trip is to find Vinland. He learns all his jobs as a cabin boy. He suspects the murder of his captain and must figure out a way to escape the evil usurper.
Magic Tree House
Viking Ships at Sunrise brings Jack and Annie back to the age of the Vikings. The nonfiction companion to this book is Fact Tracker: Vikings, which is a good overview of the main points for younger kids.
Life as a Viking
This interactive story has three main threads that follow early, middle, and late Viking events as they invade England. As you read, you choose your path through the story. Most end with death, but such was reality for many Vikings. I read this aloud to my 7 and 9 year old kids and they enjoyed the colored illustrations. The story really reinforced the Viking history we had learned.
Wulfgar the Saxon
This is a trilogy of historical fiction books. The author has imagined what it would be like to live during the time of King Alfred in an isolated Saxon town . In the first book, Wulfgar and the Vikings, everything changes the day Wulfgar discovers a person named Morcant who has escaped the Vikings. Morcant brings Christianity and learning to the people of the village, the villagers successfully stave off a Viking attack, and they rally together with King Alfred against the Danes (the Vikings from Denmark).
Viking Tales
I had already read this book to my 7 and 9 year olds according to AmblesideOnline’s Year 1 schedule. They did recall details of Viking life from this book. If you haven’t read it yet, it is engaging historical fiction about Harald Fairhair who becomes the Viking King of Norway.
Middle Grade Books About Vikings
The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald
This is on the booklist of free reads for AmblesideOnline Year 7. I assigned it to the 7th graders to read, as I found it interesting that this is the earliest composed Icelandic saga. We used this reprinted edition from Living Book Press.
The Story of Rolf and the Viking’s Bow
This book is set around the year 1000 when Christianity has come to the Vikings in Iceland. It is an action packed adventure about what happens to Rolf when his father lights a beacon to help a ship during a storm. This is also on the list of AmblesideOnline Year 7 free reads.
Raiders from the Sea
This is a series of five adventure books, written from a Christian world view. Bree and Devin are kidnapped from their home in Ireland. Bree must forge a new path for herself with the Vikings in Norway while Devin makes his way back home in Ireland.
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