Books with title The Vikings

What is a jarl? How were the Vikings ruled? Why did the Viking civilization disappear? The Vikings answers these questions and more. The books in the History Opens Windows series help you discover what life was like in ancient civilizations and other historic times. Learn what the Vikings wore, what they ate, how they traveled from place to place, and find out how we know about them today.

Between the 8th and 11th centuries Vikings stormed out of their Scandinavian homelands to raid and loot along the coasts of Europe. In old Norse to ‘go-a-viking’ meant to go on an adventure – to seek wealth and fame. Vikings would take to the sea in a long ship, sometimes for a trading trip, sometimes a piratical raid. Often it was both. Explorers and traders, warriors and poets, they ranged between Byzantium in the south and Iceland, and even North America, in the North. Their fame lives on.

At not quite fifteen, Stefan's father finally let him board the longship Sja Vinna to take part in his first Viking raid. But the battle was not at all what he expected and he found himself alone and stranded in Scotland. Thirteen-year-old Kannak's problem was just as grave. Her father deserted them and the only way to survive, she decided, was to take a husband over her mother's objections. Then suddenly she found herself helping a hated Viking escape. Could Kannak successfully hide a Viking in the middle of a Scottish Clan? And why was someone plotting to kill the clan's beloved laird?

A victorious story about a boy with a wild imagination, this humorous and pertinent narrative not only addresses the serious issue of bullying, but also highlights a moving relationship between grandfather and grandson. Josh is a nervous kid, and he is especially nervous about the kids who bother him at school and in the skate park. With his helmet and sword, and joined by his trusty Scottish terrier Wolverine, Josh finds new strength when the ancient Viking gods unite with him to thwart the neighborhood bullies.