Vikings

Blast Back!

by Nancy Ohlin, Adam Larkum (Illustrator)

Get ready to blast back to the past and discover what life was like as a Viking!When people think about Vikings, things like big ships and helmets with horns may come to mind. But what was it really like to be a Viking? This engaging nonfiction book, complete with black and white interior illustrations, will make readers feel like they've traveled back in time. It covers everything from the ships they sailed to everyday life, and more. Find out interesting, little-known facts such as how the Vikings discovered North America long before Christopher Columbus, and how one Harry Potter character was named after a famous creature from Viking mythology! The unique details along with the clever and humorous interior illustrations make this series stand out from the competition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2017

About the author

I am the author of Consent (Simon Pulse 2015) as well as Always, Forever, a YA retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Beauty, a YA retelling of the Snow White tale.

I've also contributed to several celebrity novels, including a New York Times-bestselling YA trilogy.

My favorite cures for writers' block are long walks, long showers, popcorn, chocolate, and really expensive coffee. I talk to myself a lot while I write (you know, to make sure the dialogue zings).

Thank you for stopping by, and happy reading!

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second (and likely last) title of the Blastback series that I've read. this is much superior to the first one I read, on the Great Wall of China https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.... I would rate this even as high as 3.5 stars. But as a librarian, I cannot in conscience rate a title that does not have an index, nor ever explain what aka means higher than 3 stars. I would not quibble over the "AKA" but this seems meant for grades 3-5 and I do not think most kids of that age would have a clue. Likely they would guess it to be part of the name being mentioned!

However, the bibliography includes titles that kids might read if they want to know more which is a great improvement on the Great Wall biography. It still seems more of a scholastic biography, a list of sources the adult author consulted. I wouldn't consider it more than an average quality in terms of biographical information. Thank goodness the author actually labeled the map with the name of the countries! That alone merits the increased ranking over the Great Wall title! But only a slight increase of ranking since another map of Western Europe was left unlabeled. A lot of the text was superior as well. The section on how Vikings created fire starters is sure to grab this age group's interest. I found the distinction between the thing and the althing informative and interesting.

I would hesitate to spend a tight budget on this series. It simply doesn't seem to have high standards. If a library has money to spend, they can purchase this title. I doubt I'll review other titles in the series and I still do not recommend the Great Wall title.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Blast Back series so much. The only thing that would make me give it 5 stars is if they had pronunciations either at the end of the book or in parentheses throughout. Some of the names and terms are hard to pronounce.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book on the Vikings. Found it very informative and well written.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This quick read makes learning history fun. Pair with The Sea of Trolls and Who was Leif Erikson?. Also check out the other books in the series.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads more as a collection of random facts on the Vikings compared to the Pearl Harbor and Titanic books in the series but an interesting read for kids, nonetheless

[Marija · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much good information