Nordic Gods and Heroes

Nordic mythology has been generally portrayed as moody and depressing, with evil defeating Asgard during the Twilight of the Gods. According to Padraic Column the battle was a draw with the Giants and their allies being destroyed as well. Column also begins his account with the aftermath of the battle with a new world springing from the old, a much better world. For me, the most impressive aspect of Column's book is the fallibility of the Norse gods. Odin cheats the builder of the wall around Asgard out of his payment. Loki kills an otter who turns out to be a blacksmith's son. Odin pays him a bounty by stealing a dwarf's treasure, which leads to the eventual destruction of Asgard. (One of the rings has a curse on it.) I was also rather surprised by the Loki character. I had always thought that he was more mischievous than evil, similar to Coyote in Native American mythology, but in Column's account, after the theft of the treasure, Loki deteriorates into a truly evil entity, marrying the witch Angerbora who gives birth to Fenir the Wolf, the serpent Jormungand, and a third entity called Hela, the withering of all life. But they are all destroyed and in the end we are left with Lif and her mate Lifthrasir, Adam and Eve characters, awakening in the forest where Odin had hidden them. There is a new son and a new moon and new gods, Vidar and Vali, sons of Odin, who find tablets the older gods have left, telling of all that happened before the Twilight of the Gods.

Best for young people looking for a few Norse legends

This is the PERFECT bedtime storybook for parents to read to kids. (after a certain level of vocab is attained). A few stories might need to be skipped for strong content, but for the most part, this is cultural gold that will fire children't imagination like nothing else. Don't kids today get enough sponge bob and thomas the train bubble-gum in their lives? These stories will give true moral and psychological challenges to the young reader, to aid in the development of a full-rounded, creative personality. That's the reason these stories were created, to prepare the young for LIFE, in its beauty and glory, and its hardships and pitfalls.The author takes the various Norse stories, and compiles them into chronological chapters. If Loki plays a trick on Thor one chapter, the next chapter, Thor is fuming about it, and it motivates his actions in the next chapter. You get a real feel for the drama and soap opera of the Gods and Heroes. Having bought the Edda, I would say, it's better to start here, then move on to the Prose Edda, which is more for the hardcore Norse Mythology enthusiast.

This is a telling of Norse mythology in a form that lives and breathes, not in dry academic prose. There are no pseudo-intellectual discussions about religion or tiresome comparisons to other, lesser myths and cultures, just straight storytelling. It is not a children's book, though the language is simple and the book could be read by children. The illustrations are excellent. This is a slightly altered version of the book that has been around since it was written in 1920 and called "Children of Odin".What else do you need to know? This is a telling of Norse mythology in a form that lives and breathes and which has proven its quality through itsstaying power.It seems to me that if you only read one book in your entire life, it might as well be this one.

This is a great book for more stories and mythology stories. No real breakdown of God and goddess aspects. Reading level is low so it can be read to children. However if you want more detail into each God and Goddess each I would try another book. In all, it's a good one for getting introduced into the main stories of Nordic mythology.

This Dover edition is superior the Alladin Publication of "The Children of Odin" simply because it contains the original artwork, albeit in black and white. This a bare bones retelling of Nordic and Teutonic tales - Part 4 is devoted to the Ring of the Nibelungs. Keep in mind that the audience for this book is children and young adults, but is an excellent place to start.Why Amazon chooses to sell both publications together is beyond my ken.Buy the Dover edition if only for the artwork !Be prepared for some archaic language : "dost", "spake", "knowst", etc.

Wife bought me this for my birthday a while back and I absolutely love it have read it multiple times front to back and my daughter loves it when I read her stories of the Aesir and Vanir and of the Giants.

Very entertaining read seeing where some of the modern day fairytale came from like Sleeping Beauty,Snow White, etc. Also it makes you want to learn more since they didn't dive deeper into Freya and Hnossa's fate.

good simple stories easy to read and good illustrations

Thoughtful, easy to understand language. Just what I wanted!