Yo, Vikings!

by Judy Schachner

Yo-wee-o! In a milestone picture book, author-illustrator Judith Byron Schachner brings us an inspiring story about making dreams come true, seasoned with a hearty helping of heroic Viking history and lore.

Emma is excited as she starts to read about Erik the Red for a school report on world explorers. The excitement grows to epic proportions when she sets her sights on obtaining a real Viking ship. With a tinfoil helmet, a fighting spirit, and the help of a kindly librarian, she hatches a plan . . . and amazes her entire town when an authentic, dragon-prowed ship arrives in her backyard!

Rich with details and humor in art and text, this is a tale about the magic of discovery and how far imagination, fueled by knowledge, can take one determined little girl.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, History

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2002

About the author

Judith Byron "Judy" Schachner is an American children's writer and illustrator. Her works include the Skippyjon Jones series. Schachner lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob, and a dog and her two Siamese cats.

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book six stars, I would. In a heartbeat. YO, VIKINGS! is an unexpected masterpiece. If you open the book and look at any illustration, it's clear that Judy Schachner LOVED making it. Every page is filled with charming, larger-than-life characters, fun details and gorgeous mixed-media illustrations. At times, her collage work looks magical! The story is hysterical, and awe-inspiring, and sprinkled with enough nonfiction information about Vikings to whet one's appetite for more.
Perhaps the author would disagree, but I'd love to see YO, VIKINGS made into a movie, a really great family movie. I can see it coming to life on the big screen like A BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA did. It's a wonderful picture book with a life of its own!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

my 8&5 year-olds enjoyed this book a lot!

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was FUN! A story about a little girl named Emma with a BIG imagination! She was obsessed with foxes, but then for a school assignment about explorers she is assigned "Erik the Red," and she becomes Emma the Red, with the help of her little brother and a school librarian named Sigurd! She writes stories and draws pictures in her journal of the adventures of Emma the Red, and is even determined to acquire a real Viking ship! But that can't happen . . . can it?

[Ashlyn Vaught · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma is a creative and bright young girl who is always taking on different characters and personalities. When Emma was given a project on Vikings, she jumped head first into learning everything she could. I love that this book encourages research and studying to know everything you can about a topic. This books illustrations are so colorful and enticing makes it perfect for students to keep them captivated.

[Misbah · Rating 1 out of 5]

A girl who pretends she's a fox gets an assignment and chooses the one that had fox in the title. The assignment she gets is about a Viking with the name fox. She's inspired by him and turns her fox costume into a Viking costume. She sees an ad for a Viking ship and orders it. The kids from her class come and play on the ship.

[Jeani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going to get this one for my personal collection!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book. This would be a good one for future nieces and nephews. I enjoyed the mythology and seeing a kid get into history.

[Geo Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book very good ending.

[Taylor De La Fe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes us on the journey of a young girl names Emma. She reads about Erik the Red at school when they learn about world explorers. She is determined to get a Viking ship of her own and with the help of her perseverance and the school librarian she is able to come up with a plan to get herself one. One day a ship is in her backyard, which both amazes her town and fills Emma with unbelievable joy. Judy Schachner wrote this book with the influence of her daughters. The background knowledge about why she wrote this story and what it is about could help enhance the overall effect the story has on you as you read it. Knowing that her daughters had a real-life Viking ship in the backyard as children and that one of them bought it with money she had saved could really open the reader’s mind to deeper meaning behind the story. While this knowledge is not necessary to enjoy it, there can be a benefit to knowing such facts.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my niece, Emma, who also happens to have red hair and a brand new little brother (whose middle name is Odin).

The book is about a girl named Emma with a fantastic imagination and artistic streak. When she is interested in something, she weaves it into all aspects of her life. Her teacher assigns her a research project on Erik the Red, and with the help of a friendly librarian, Emma enters into the world of vikings.

Super fun read. Strong female character.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations for this book were great. I especially loved the colors and settings. I thought the main character was a spunky little girl and I also liked the relationship she had with her brother. I would recommend this book, especially if you have a young viking in your house.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this picture book as part of our Middle Ages history lesson about the Vikings. It is a perfect picture book for elementary level students. It's a fun read that ties in Viking history and Norse mythology when Emma draws the name Erik the Red as her explorer for World Discovery Day at school.

First read April 7, 2012.

[The Brothers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dex (5yo) like this story okay, but I thought it was too weird to really enjoy it. A little girl named Emma believes pretty much whatever she decides to pretend. And then gets a viking ship. (When she refers to Odin the Viking god getting her what she wants, I couldn't help but think, "Kids'll worship the darnedest things!")

Illustrations are okay.

[Amber Friel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. This book celebrates the hope, imagination, and individuality. This is a perfect read for students ages 4 and up. No only is the main character well captured, but the images on each page are stunning. I love Judy Schachner, and this book is quite a gem.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

with Story of the World, Vol II.

I'd say this is a better than average fictional story to introduce a historical topic. I am pretty ignorant on viking "stuff" so I am no expert, but I loved the approach of this book, the illustrations, and the attitude of the girl.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Lindi, for this excellent recommendation! Reading it aloud to fourth graders made it even better. I love that this story is based in truth. The take away is that dreams can come true - especially if your dream is having a Viking ship in your backyard!

[Indra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This easy reader book combined two of my favorite things: children pretending to be vikings and a very cool librarian. I enjoyed the ending, but won't give it away. The librarian happened to be an old man with a beard which reminded me it's time to watch the Rocket Gibraltar movie again.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this are great... unique appealing characters, loaded with detail and fantasy and excitement. But I couldn't get excited about the text. Not sure why. Just couldn't.

[Christine Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not great.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

good review of lots of the things we learned about vikings in a nice story format. . .