A review by katymul
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love teaching out of this book. I work with a couple different ones in my Western Mythologies class, which I teach every other summer. I've cycled through a couple variations for the Norse mythology, and I appreciate that Crossley-Holland doesn't feel the need to tamp down either the wacky, the off-putting, the violent, or the "inappropriate" pieces of the stories. All of the things that other versions try to "refine" for modern sensibilities are preserved here and let me tell you -- it's what the students want. Especially coming after the oversaturated stories of Greco-Roman mythology, the novelty of tone and structure and message always makes my students react, usually with joy and always with fascination.