The Dragon's Hoard: Stories from the Viking Sagas

The Dragon's Hoard is an interesting collection of retold Viking fables. Lari Don is a Scottish story teller who regularly visits schools to retell these stories. He has shortened the stories and written down for easy reading aloud. The stories are beautifully illustrated by Cate James. The introductory section gives useful background to the retellings and there is also further information given on each story at the end of the book. Some of the stories follow the traditional violent Viking stories of battles and revenges while others are more about magic, history and legend. For instance The Bear in Chains is a touching story which raises issues linked to animal treatment. Sailing to America, which is from The Greenlander saga, is most interesting as it tells of how the Vikings sailed to America 500 years before Columbus arrived there. The stories, with careful selection, could be shared with pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 as they are short and written to be read aloud. 64 pages / Ages 7+ / Reviewed by Fiona Collins, consultant.

Suggested Reading Age 7+