Norse Tales of Legends, Gods and Heroes

A charming little tale accompanies how I discovered this book which I’ll share with you now. My paternal grandmother (or nanny as I preferred to call her) was an avid reader and my own zeal for reading was mainly encouraged by her. Now over at my grandad’s house there is a corner of his living room where my grandmother’s bookshelf has pretty much been kept as it was while she was alive, a little bit in homage. And I do love to rummage through it now and again because she had great taste. Well on my last rummage I came upon this book, and was just about to ask my grandad to borrow it when I realised inside was a sticker saying it was mine in rather childish writing. It turns out I must have lent it to her instead! Which backs up why I joined the Read-A-Myth challenge in the first place, that as a child I was obsessed with all things mythological and not just Greek Mythology…but seem to have lost that love. This challenge has really helped to rekindle that love though

‘Norse Tales is a beautifully illustrated collection of the enchanting and romantic Norse legends. Here a child’s imagination will be gripped by marvellous tales of bards, gods, giants, heroes, and nymphs. Within these pages come to life the famous figures of Norse mythology, which have influenced the greatest writers and musicians of Europe, including Wagner.

Here are the gods – the good Odin and his sons Baldur and Thor, the beautiful Freya; the evil dwarfs and giants – and Fafnir the dragon; the heroes – Sigurd and Heimar; the water nymphs – the beautiful Undine and the Rhine maidens.’

I found this to be an utterly charming little read, and can see why I clearly loved it so much as a child to pass it on to my grandmother. Norse Tales of Legends, Gods and Heroes is exactly what it says it is, a collection of short stories of legends, gods and heroes plus fair maidens, great kings, and evil doers! The collection was created by the group Geddes and Grosset who specialise in creating short story collections like this for children, to educate and entertain them. Although the book is aimed at children I don’t think any adult would find a complaint with this book either. The style is simple, and very easy to read which means it is perfect for young and old alike, to either like me rekindle your interest in Norse mythology, or even better if you are a complete newbie to it all.

I highly recommend Norse Tales of Legends, Gods and Heroes as a perfect introduction into the world of Norse mythology. This may not have the detail some of you want but I think certainly does wet the appetite to know more, and you like me might find yourself wanting to progress on to something more mature. In happy coincidence I have J R R Tolkien’s take on The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun on my tbr shelf