Gods & Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Vikings

Gr 5–8—The concept behind this series is so good that it's a shame the execution is so disappointing. Each of the four titles deals with a popular Western mythology and culture, tying in stories about different gods to aspects of culture (for instance, for Loki, Viking raids are discussed, while for Neptune, ships and the sea are covered). Unfortunately, two pages simply isn't enough space to explore either the gods or a general topic of daily life, and overall quality varies from book to book. While the titles are certainly well researched, they sometimes introduce concepts that go counter to common knowledge or omit important details. The layout leaves readers at a loss for which part of the text to read first, and the different font styles and sizes result in an odd look. These resources might work well for libraries looking for very basic introductions to mythology and its relation to culture, but others will want to skip them.