Nordic Tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark
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- Create Date：2021-05-17 11:53:49
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Chronicle Books
- ISBN：1452174474
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Summary
Nordic Tales is a collection of 16 traditional tales from the enchanting world of Nordic folklore。
Translated and transcribed by folklorists in the 19th century， these stories are at once magical， hilarious， cozy， and chilling。
Welcome to a world of mystical adventure—where trolls haunt the snowy forests， terrifying monsters roam the open sea， a young woman journeys to the end of the world， and a boy proves he knows no fear。
• Offers a fascinating view into Nordic culture
• The tales come alive alongside bold， contemporary art
• Part of the popular Tales series， featuring Tales of Japan， Celtic Tales， Tales of India， and Tales of East Africa
Nordic Tales will enthrall fans of fairytales and captivate those interested in the rich history of Nordic culture。
Ulla Thynell's glowing contemporary illustrations accompany each tale， conjuring dragons， princesses， and the northern lights。
• A visually gorgeous book that will be at home on the shelf or on the coffee table
• A perfect gift for fairy tale and folklore lovers， fans of Nordic culture， people of Nordic ancestry， collectors of illustrated classics， and bibliophiles looking for a comforting wintertime read
• Add it to the collection of books like D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire， Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman， and Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton。
People who love Greek mythology， roman mythology， Chinese mythology， Celtic mythology， and folklore and cultural studies from around the globe will love Nordic Tales。
Translated and transcribed by folklorists in the 19th century， these stories are at once magical， hilarious， cozy， and chilling。
Welcome to a world of mystical adventure—where trolls haunt the snowy forests， terrifying monsters roam the open sea， a young woman journeys to the end of the world， and a boy proves he knows no fear。
• Offers a fascinating view into Nordic culture
• The tales come alive alongside bold， contemporary art
• Part of the popular Tales series， featuring Tales of Japan， Celtic Tales， Tales of India， and Tales of East Africa
Nordic Tales will enthrall fans of fairytales and captivate those interested in the rich history of Nordic culture。
Ulla Thynell's glowing contemporary illustrations accompany each tale， conjuring dragons， princesses， and the northern lights。
• A visually gorgeous book that will be at home on the shelf or on the coffee table
• A perfect gift for fairy tale and folklore lovers， fans of Nordic culture， people of Nordic ancestry， collectors of illustrated classics， and bibliophiles looking for a comforting wintertime read
• Add it to the collection of books like D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire， Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman， and Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton。
People who love Greek mythology， roman mythology， Chinese mythology， Celtic mythology， and folklore and cultural studies from around the globe will love Nordic Tales。
Reviews
Demitria Fox
，
I haven't read every single story， but from what I have read is really good。 Interesting stories that really make you think and takes you on a journey that you want more of。 I haven't read every single story， but from what I have read is really good。 Interesting stories that really make you think and takes you on a journey that you want more of。 。。。more
Laura DiSciullo
，
Was an enjoyable escape to read the old fairy tales 。
Anne
，
Never trust a troll。
Ahimsa
，
Two things that are cool about this book。 The stories they selected are proper Nordic Tales， dripping with Ogres in hygge castles and all that。 But they were new to me as well; so even if you've read East of the Sun， West of the Moon and its like， there are new stories here。Secondly， the art is well， top-notch would be an understatement。 Some of the pictures are legit masterpieces， especially towards the end of the book。 The best picture of all accompanies perhaps the worst story: Jack of Sjohol Two things that are cool about this book。 The stories they selected are proper Nordic Tales， dripping with Ogres in hygge castles and all that。 But they were new to me as well; so even if you've read East of the Sun， West of the Moon and its like， there are new stories here。Secondly， the art is well， top-notch would be an understatement。 Some of the pictures are legit masterpieces， especially towards the end of the book。 The best picture of all accompanies perhaps the worst story: Jack of Sjoholm and the Gan-Fin。 This book is worth it for the art or for the stories。 Both together is too good to be true！ 。。。more
Stephanie D。E。
，
Beautiful images with each story。 Wish there were more illustrations！ At some points the translation was a little challenging to decipher， but overall very readable and enjoyable！
Ludmila Marton
，
Apart from last story （last story was just downright weird）， it’s interesting to observe how folkstories in various countries （especially european） overlap。 Versions of stories in this book appear in english， german or slavic folklore as well。 Nothing exists in a vacuum， we are all connected。
Trish
，
I've had the books of this series （so far， there are 7 of which I currently own 4） for a while but only now found the time to finally read them。We get 16 Nordic tales in this book。 For a mythology lover， that is woefully short and not enough by far。 They are therefore affording just a glimpse at the riches buried in the respective mythology。 Nevertheless， which stories were selected and how they were presented was so enchanting that I didn't mind at all。Overall， the book offers a nice insight in I've had the books of this series （so far， there are 7 of which I currently own 4） for a while but only now found the time to finally read them。We get 16 Nordic tales in this book。 For a mythology lover， that is woefully short and not enough by far。 They are therefore affording just a glimpse at the riches buried in the respective mythology。 Nevertheless， which stories were selected and how they were presented was so enchanting that I didn't mind at all。Overall， the book offers a nice insight into the Nordic culture， greatly helped by Ulla Thynell's artwork， which - frankly - was the best thing about this book。 The stories selected were very diverse - some were chilling， others hilarious， all with a lesson or two to teach the listeners/readers。 So even though it's a short book with not enough stories for a greedy little bookworm like me， it's a great place to start， fantastic for whetting one's appetite for mythology， and/or as a pretty display piece on the shelf in addition to the more comprehensive comendiums。 。。。more
Book paper raven （Sam）
，
I enjoyed the short， simple Nordic stories， as well as the beautiful artwork。 It was something fun and easy to read before bed But the final story in the book had me drop the rating by a star as I found it quite long， convoluted and hard to understand as the translation to English wasn’t clear。 If you take this final story out I would give it four stars！
Beatriz Sousa
，
*ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review on the platform*
Pat Ojanen
，
Fun book， especially when one's DNA is from all those places！ Fun book， especially when one's DNA is from all those places！ 。。。more
Willow
，
A beautiful collection of Nordic fairy tales。 The artwork is stunning， and the stories are almost all interesting。 It is hard to find a collection of fairy tales that are mostly good， and this book manages it。 My 6 year old asked for some of these over and over again。
Noe
，
The English phrasing is a bit clumsy in places （as if it was directly translated to English rather than translated and edited to fit the flow of English as opposed to [for example] Swedish）。 I found it hard to concentrate on the stories at times as well。 They'd drag on a little longer than necessary and my ADHD was making it very hard to finish some of the stories。 （East of the Sun and West of the moon！）I found the first story 'The forest bride' （Mouse Princess） to be adorable though。 And the ar The English phrasing is a bit clumsy in places （as if it was directly translated to English rather than translated and edited to fit the flow of English as opposed to [for example] Swedish）。 I found it hard to concentrate on the stories at times as well。 They'd drag on a little longer than necessary and my ADHD was making it very hard to finish some of the stories。 （East of the Sun and West of the moon！）I found the first story 'The forest bride' （Mouse Princess） to be adorable though。 And the artwork between the stories was nice to look at and were very well done。 It looks nice on my bookshelf。 。。。more
Rebecca Yeee
，
Amazing and BeautifulPerfect bedtime stories for those looking for something new。
Veronica Lessard
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I really enjoyed that book！ Those of you who are looking for great sagas of Norse mythology， will be sorely disappointed。 This books gathers tales from Norway， Denmark，Sweden， and Finland about ordinary characters。 This a light writing that made me smile， laugh and sometimes， cringe with disgust。 Some stories are longer; the style can be heavy and a little boring。 However， if you wish to get out of the comfort zone and read tales from the cold lands， I recommend it。
Jordan Carlson
，
One Icelandic tale was a little dark/gorey for me， plus I didn’t care for the final tale in this collection。。。but the rest of the book was really delightful and the perfect change of pace。 I enjoyed the illustrations immensely！
Sadie Butterworth-Jones
，
I had such high hopes for this book - I love collecting fairy/folk tales - but was really disappointed with it。 It is gorgeously illustrated and printed， but whoever translated/edited/typeset this should be ashamed of themselves。 There were so many errors I am genuinely astonished it made it to print。 With a bit of care and attention this book could be wonderful， and the stories fantastic， but sadly it just wasn't done justice at all。 I had such high hopes for this book - I love collecting fairy/folk tales - but was really disappointed with it。 It is gorgeously illustrated and printed， but whoever translated/edited/typeset this should be ashamed of themselves。 There were so many errors I am genuinely astonished it made it to print。 With a bit of care and attention this book could be wonderful， and the stories fantastic， but sadly it just wasn't done justice at all。 。。。more
Juliana
，
Beautiful illustrations and cover
Isabel
，
I liked some of the stories and some I did not。 The illustrations are beautiful。
Kristen
，
This collection of Nordic folktales is beautiful to look at。 Some tales are familiar， and some are not。 Nicely illustrated and well written。 My favorites were Toller's Neighbours from Denmark， and Hildur， the Queen of the Elves from Iceland。 I also really enjoyed Mighty Mikko: The Story of a Poor Woodsman and a Grateful Fox， which is from Finland。 It seems to be a variation on the traditional Puss in Boots story that originated in Italy， then France， and it was fun to compare and contrast them。 This collection of Nordic folktales is beautiful to look at。 Some tales are familiar， and some are not。 Nicely illustrated and well written。 My favorites were Toller's Neighbours from Denmark， and Hildur， the Queen of the Elves from Iceland。 I also really enjoyed Mighty Mikko: The Story of a Poor Woodsman and a Grateful Fox， which is from Finland。 It seems to be a variation on the traditional Puss in Boots story that originated in Italy， then France， and it was fun to compare and contrast them。 。。。more
Beleth
，
Libro de cuentos clásicos de países nórdicos （ojo， no confundir con mitología nórdica de Odín， Thor， etc。） donde hay un total de 17 cuentos agrupados en tres categorías （transformación， ingenio y viajes）。 Cada uno de ellos encierra una historia， casi todas con finales un poco crudos y algunos incluso macabros， que ejemplifica muy bien cómo eran antes los cuentos。 Muchos nos resultarán desconocidos， aunque en algunos casos sí los podemos comparar （aunque sea muy por encima） con otros más nuestros Libro de cuentos clásicos de países nórdicos （ojo， no confundir con mitología nórdica de Odín， Thor， etc。） donde hay un total de 17 cuentos agrupados en tres categorías （transformación， ingenio y viajes）。 Cada uno de ellos encierra una historia， casi todas con finales un poco crudos y algunos incluso macabros， que ejemplifica muy bien cómo eran antes los cuentos。 Muchos nos resultarán desconocidos， aunque en algunos casos sí los podemos comparar （aunque sea muy por encima） con otros más nuestros como el del gato con botas。 Las ilustraciones a pagina completa de Ulla Thynell， una por cuento， además son una preciosidad。 Todos los cuentos proceden de libros que están ya en dominio público y que se pueden encontrar en páginas web como Archive， de hecho， al final aparecen los enlaces a los libros concretos de los que han sacado cada cuento， así que os pueden servir para leer todavía más cuentos de esta zona del planeta。 Muy recomendable si os gustan los cuentos clásicos， muy alejados del espíritu Disney， y si queréis conocer otras culturas。 。。。more
Kate
，
It sounds daft， but I was expecting these Nordic folk tales to feature much more snow and ice than they did！ Perhaps this shows my naivety and the fact that I made far too many assumptions。 The fault is purely mine。As a fan of fairy tales/folk tales and myths， I enjoy reading such tales from other cultures。 This particular edition is very beautiful; the cover art definitely drew me in。 The tales are fairly simple folk tales， as you would expect。 Each tale begins with a colour illustration， depic It sounds daft， but I was expecting these Nordic folk tales to feature much more snow and ice than they did！ Perhaps this shows my naivety and the fact that I made far too many assumptions。 The fault is purely mine。As a fan of fairy tales/folk tales and myths， I enjoy reading such tales from other cultures。 This particular edition is very beautiful; the cover art definitely drew me in。 The tales are fairly simple folk tales， as you would expect。 Each tale begins with a colour illustration， depicting some element of it， and this artwork is absolutely beautiful。 I would have much preferred to have some more illustrations for each tale， as I feel that they would have brought them to life even more。 。。。more
Christen
，
3。5 stars。 I did enjoy this collection。 The tales felt less homogeneous than the Lang fairy tales tend to and less dry than Grimm。 I love the Nordic setting and the illustrations。 The stories are taken from 19th century sources， which are listed in the back。 Many of the tale felt new to me， nonetheless， though some definitely could be found in non-Nordic cultures。 One I had just read in a collection of Slavonic tales。 I knocked off stars for the religious prejudice and in some cases， overt racis 3。5 stars。 I did enjoy this collection。 The tales felt less homogeneous than the Lang fairy tales tend to and less dry than Grimm。 I love the Nordic setting and the illustrations。 The stories are taken from 19th century sources， which are listed in the back。 Many of the tale felt new to me， nonetheless， though some definitely could be found in non-Nordic cultures。 One I had just read in a collection of Slavonic tales。 I knocked off stars for the religious prejudice and in some cases， overt racism。 Many of the stories suffer from 19th century moralizing and painting a Christian veneer over everything。 It seems to me that any "troll" mentioned in the story is simply a non-Christian or indigenous person in the fact that many of the trolls in the stories seem indistinguishable from humans until it is clear that they use magic。 These are not the types of trolls found in Tolkien， though at least one of them had to avoid the sun。 In the saddest story in the collection， a tribe of trolls leaves their home in Denmark because there are so many church bells in the land that it hurts their ears。 The most overt racism is found in the final half-baked tall tale in the collection where the villain is a Sami shaman。 The prejudice against Sami culture is pretty clear in the derisive language used to describe the shaman， when the hero was responsible for more deaths by his stupidity and bravado than the shaman ever was。 。。。more
Namratha
，
Until now， the only Nordic fairytale that I was familiar with was *East of the Sun and West of the Moon*。 This book however takes a mighty and chilly dip into the myths， fairytales and legends of Norway， Sweden， Finland， Iceland， and Denmark。 You come across unexpected shapeshifters， wily animals， cruel giants， conniving witches， humble lads seeking the hands of unattainable princesses， dark magicians， stoic boat-builders， kindly gnomes and even a majestic Queen of the Elves。The stories， as fair Until now， the only Nordic fairytale that I was familiar with was *East of the Sun and West of the Moon*。 This book however takes a mighty and chilly dip into the myths， fairytales and legends of Norway， Sweden， Finland， Iceland， and Denmark。 You come across unexpected shapeshifters， wily animals， cruel giants， conniving witches， humble lads seeking the hands of unattainable princesses， dark magicians， stoic boat-builders， kindly gnomes and even a majestic Queen of the Elves。The stories， as fairytales are won't to be， can be quite grim and macabre in certain places。 But they are also rich in hope and the promise of a happily-ever-after resolution。 I was exposed to a whole new pantheon of legends and enjoyed most of the stories save for a few that dragged on unnecessarily。I was rather smitten by this hardcover book with the gorgeous cover art which was reminiscent of the cozy tomes from my childhood。 The beautiful illustrations， sparse but rich in detail enhance that sense of nostalgia。 I saved this book for December as the cold （well， as cold as Mumbai deigns to be） weather， a cup of hot chocolate and a snuggly comforter seemed like the ideal setting for this sometimes eerie but always engaging trip into the world of Nordic legends。A fine keepsake。 。。。more
Larry
，
This is a delightful anthology of Nordic fairy tale stories。 The prose is in general brilliant and beautiful a sparkling of Nordic and colored， storied words that were wonderful- the art was iconic and mesmerizing。 I think I had only ever heard one of these tales before and even that telling was a bit different from what I found here。 My reason for reading this is that I am writing a text based， CYOA video game and I am currently working on a Norse section。 Not much of those poor missing Norse G This is a delightful anthology of Nordic fairy tale stories。 The prose is in general brilliant and beautiful a sparkling of Nordic and colored， storied words that were wonderful- the art was iconic and mesmerizing。 I think I had only ever heard one of these tales before and even that telling was a bit different from what I found here。 My reason for reading this is that I am writing a text based， CYOA video game and I am currently working on a Norse section。 Not much of those poor missing Norse Gods and Goddesses here， although there was some iconography in common-in “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” there is a golden apple that reminded me of Idunn， there is also a smattering of salmon， ravens， and wolves in these tales as well as Alfs ， dwarves， trolls， and maybe Jotun。 That said， if these tales have any more links to the Aesir and Vanir that is mysterious as sadly we just don’t know what symbols and stories were linked to which God or Goddess。 Now， while I may not have gotten what I came for， I did get a fine taste of fairy tale stories that left my blood singing for joy。 Some were better than others， but even my least favrorite was still enjoyable。 As with fairy tales we may be more familiar with there is a sort of underlying moral lesson to be learned from many of these and more than a little bit of fun whilst in many。 While I think these tales are family friendly and suitably fir most age groups with the exception of maybe the youngest， reading between the lines it seems that some of these tales no doubt have a more adult version somewhere。 In any event， for people that like fairy tales， fantasy stories， magic， and wonder I strongly recommend this anthology of Nordic stories。 And whether your seeing a story filled with sea-flame or journeying East of the sun and west of the moon， I am sure you readers will enjoy these tales on your travels。 。。。more
Cdhutson
，
Enjoyed this book。 It was a fast easy read with tales from Iceland， Norway and more。 My love for Greek and Roman mythology is what made me pick this little gem up。
Sarah Walker
，
I enjoyed some of the tales more than others but great to read at this time if the year。
Claudia Piña
，
Me gustan mucho los libros de Chronicle Books， son ediciones muy bonitas y cuidadas。 Los cuentos son varios bastante conocidos （east of the sun and west of the he moon， por ejemplo） pero varios no los había escuchado antes。Tienen la simplicidad característica de las historias folclóricas， pero ustedes ya saben que eso es una de mis debilidades。
Juliette
，
These collections of fairytales from the northern countries were really great， the art style is gorgeous and the stories were delightful。 I've always been fascinated by the folklore of these countries！Moreover， it was the perfect read for the month of December！ These collections of fairytales from the northern countries were really great， the art style is gorgeous and the stories were delightful。 I've always been fascinated by the folklore of these countries！Moreover， it was the perfect read for the month of December！ 。。。more
Ana Lopes
，
（more like a 3。75⭐）This book contains 17 folktales from Norway， Sweden， Finland， Iceland and Denmark that are divided into three categories: Transformation， Wit and Journeys。Most of these short stories were somewhat similar or familiar at least to tales that I already knew and have read when I was a kid。 There were some more interesting than others and some that just somewhat blended。 Overall I liked the experience and it was good to know this short tales from a different part of the world。P。S。 （more like a 3。75⭐）This book contains 17 folktales from Norway， Sweden， Finland， Iceland and Denmark that are divided into three categories: Transformation， Wit and Journeys。Most of these short stories were somewhat similar or familiar at least to tales that I already knew and have read when I was a kid。 There were some more interesting than others and some that just somewhat blended。 Overall I liked the experience and it was good to know this short tales from a different part of the world。P。S。 The audiobook was great and totally recommend it 。。。more
Clare Deborah
，