In the Days of Giants: A Book of Norse Tales

This version is abridged. The version by Pook Press is 280 pages, while this version is only 122. Be sure to get the Pook Press version.

This was a big favorite when I was little, and still is.

Nice, and light reading. Enjoyable.

As a person of Norwegian descent, I have always identified with the Norse. I even find some people I have done business with refering to me as Brad the Viking. Maybe my barrel chest and flowing gold locks aid in this, still... But I found when it came down to it, all I KNEW about Norse mythology was Thor, Odin, Valhalla, and Loki. And my details on much it it - fuzzy at best. So when I came across a few books of Norse Mythology in a box of books I was cleaning out for my girlfriends mom, I had to lay claim to them, and now I am workingm y way through them. This one was first. This particular tome is aimed more at middle school children, but is fairly extensive in at least the tales it tells are many. I am sure anything risque or too violent was glossed over, and the stories are presented in a narritive tone that often over does the foreshadowing. Still for someone like me without a strong backgroung in the subject matter, it was probly just about right. Printed in 1930 by Houghtin Mifflin, this alos came with 5 or 6 illustrationns to inform the tales. Though rich and vibrant for line drawings in black ink with some shading, they didnt do too much to increase my opinion of the lore, but they wee still neat and VERY period, to the time of printing. It is hard to recomend this book, as I doubt you could find a copy if you tried, still I will, if you are interested, or curious about Norse Mythology, and want to see what it is all about, before you lay down bigger money for fancier, more expensive books on the matter. Now that I say that, I checked, and actually Amazon has this edition for 4 or 5 dollars, so I can recomend this book outright. This book makes a nice incline plane to ease you into the waters or Norse Myths. So see if you feel at home in there, and if you are like me, dive on in.

I absolutely loved this book as a child, and still do. My kids loved it, too. It's a well-researched account of Norse mythology--wonderful stories of dwarves and dragons and giants.