Usborne Illustrated Guide to Norse Myths and Legends (Usborne Illustrated Guide to)

Rating:
Summary: A favorite
Review: I picked up this book and the Usborne Greek Myths and Legends when I was about 8 or 9. I had gotten interested in Greek Mythology and wanted a book, and this one was right beside the Greek one. To this day, this book is one of my favorites.

This was the book that got me interested in Norse legends and mythology. For those of you who don't know about it, I think it is for more interesting than the Greek or Roman myths that are all that most people know.

This book is chock-full of some of the most interesting tales I've ever read. Even as an adult, I go back to it every so often to re-read some of the stories. It presents them in a way that even a kid can understand and enjoy. The art is also one of my favorite parts. The subjects definitely do not appear Norse (their only flaw), but the lavish scenes and rich colors more than make up for this. Whenever I think of a scene from Norse mythology, the Rodney Matthews's illustrations are the images that come to mind.

This book will always be my standard for Norse mythology, and it will always have a place on my shelf.

Rating:
Summary: A favorite
Review: I picked up this book and the Usborne Greek Myths and Legends when I was about 8 or 9. I had gotten interested in Greek Mythology and wanted a book, and this one was right beside the Greek one. To this day, this book is one of my favorites.

This was the book that got me interested in Norse legends and mythology. For those of you who don't know about it, I think it is for more interesting than the Greek or Roman myths that are all that most people know.

This book is chock-full of some of the most interesting tales I've ever read. Even as an adult, I go back to it every so often to re-read some of the stories. It presents them in a way that even a kid can understand and enjoy. The art is also one of my favorite parts. The subjects definitely do not appear Norse (their only flaw), but the lavish scenes and rich colors more than make up for this. Whenever I think of a scene from Norse mythology, the Rodney Matthews's illustrations are the images that come to mind.

This book will always be my standard for Norse mythology, and it will always have a place on my shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible Art
Review: The art is terrible. All the characters are ugly; one wonders are these the gods? Odin and Frigg are pure Asian. Odin looks like some ancient Korean bad man, and Frigg looks like a geisha girl. If the illustrations mean anything to you, pass up this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: This is the book that drew me to Norse Mythology in the first place. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and the stories are all very good too. Heck, I would recommend this book on its illustrations (by Rodney Matthews, by the way) alone, but I don't have to. YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: Terrible Art
Review: While the illustrations owe much to fantasy role-playing games rather than reflecting actual Viking art, the information packed into this litle book is superb, and serves as an excellent introduction to the Norse myths and legends.