British history books for children: Celts, Saxons and Vikings

The Sword in the Stone

T. H. White

This wonderful book is the first part in a collection of novels, ‘The Once and Future King’, that T.H. White wrote about the life of Arthur. The later books are NOT suitable for young children, but this one is highly recommended!

The Sword in the Stone covers Arthur’s childhood, up until the point at which he pulls the sword from the stone and is crowned King of England. Merlin is Arthur’s tutor, and prepares him for his future (as yet unknown to Arthur) life as king. Merlin transforms Arthur into a number of different animals, birds and fish, through which Arthur learns a number of important lessons.

The book is available as an audiobook from Naxos, in both abridged and unabridged versions. We have the abridged version, and I think it is well done.

The King who Was and Will Be: The World of King Arthur and his Knights

Kevin Crossley-Holland

Kevin Crossley-Holland has written a fictional series featuring Arthurian legends, but this book is a little different. It explores some of the historical aspects of King Arthur, and how our ideas about Arthur have impacted on British history. There are so many facets to this book that it is hard to describe!

Some pages cover particular aspects of the Arthurian legend, and how they connected with broader cultural values. For example, thinking of the Round Table as both an object and an ideal, exploring the reasons behind choosing a round table, connecting it to the table at the Last Supper, but also to a table belonging to Henry VIII.

Other pages have poems or extracts from medieval books connected to Arthur. There is some information about Geoffrey of Monmouth, Malory, and other authors who wrote about Arthur.

It is possible that some children might be frustrated by this book, expecting some more exciting stories of Arthur, when really this is an exploration of what Arthur meant, and means today. I think it is a lovely book, beautifully illustrated, and full of interesting ideas. It may need some thought to use it well, but it deserves it!

Beowulf

Michael Morpurgo

We went for this heavily illustrated version written by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Foreman. There is plenty of blood and violence in the story, but in the illustrations it is mostly limited to damage to the monster Beowulf himself. I haven’t read the original poem, but this edition seems to retain the lyrical feel of poetry, with lots of descriptive language and heroism. ‘Then Beowulf, that sainted survivor, plunged once more into the deep and with powerful strokes swam upwards through the water, unhindered now by sea-serpents and writhing monsters of the deep, for the pool was now cleansed of these vile creatures, gone where all evil goes, where Grendel and his mother had gone, down to hell itself where they belonged, never to return again.’

Celts (Usborne Beginners)

Leonie Pratt

This provides a good overview of key aspects of Celtic life. It is a short easy read, and suitable for most children to read themselves. I like the photographs of Celtic artefacts. Towards the end there is a page explaining that the Celts did not write things down, and so we have to use clues from other sources to find out about them. I would have preferred this page to be at the front of the book, and generally take the time to talk about archaeology and Roman sources with children before reading this book, and the potential shortfalls of those approaches.

The Story of Saint Columba (Corbie Bios)

David Ross

This series of Scottish biographies are reminiscent of Ladybird books, though perhaps a little shorter. There are plenty of pictures, and the text is fairly simple. This one tells the story of the arrival of St Columba in Scotland, and the founding of the monastery on Iona. A good introduction to Celtic Christianity.

The Sailor who Captured the Sea

Deborah Nourse Lattimore

This richly illustrated picture book, inspired by the Book of Kells, an Irish manuscript. It is set at a monastery near Dublin. It’s a quick easy read, and the plotline is perhaps a little weak at points. The illustrations are lovely, and give a good feel for monastery life at this point. Each page has a rich border of manuscript illumination inspired by the Book of Kells. A good one to read to inspire children before having a go at some illumination of their own.

The Marsh King

C. Walter Hodges

This story covers the period of King Alfred’s life in which the Danes invaded Wessex. It is historical fiction, but definitely closer to the historical than the fiction! It includes the famous incident of the burning of the cakes. One for older children as the text is fairly dense, though there are a few black and white illustrations.

King Alfred the Great (Ladybird)

L. Du Garde Peach

A wonderful book from the Ladybird series of biographies, with illustrations on every page. It includes Alfred’s childhood, and the major events of his kingship, as well as some of his other achievements such as the candle clock. We really enjoyed this one.

Hounds of the King

Henry Treece

This historical fiction book is set during the short reign of Harold Godwinson, running up to the Battle of Hastings. It gives a good feel for the life of a housecarle (king’s bodyguard) in Saxon England. Content warning: there is a lot of battle in it (in keeping with the historic context!), and the Stamford Bridge scenes in particular are quite violent.

Vikings (Usborne Beginners)

Stephanie Turnbull

In the same series as the Celts book listed above, this is a short easy read suitable for most children to read themselves. There are some photographs of Viking artefacts, and a general overview of what we know about the Vikings’ way of life, both at home, and also when exploring and raiding.

A Viking Town (Spectacular Visual Guides)

Fiona Macdonald and Mark Bergin

This book focusses on Viking domestic life, which I appreciated because I think our knowledge of the Vikings tends to dwell primarily on their raiding trips. There are lots of labelled pictures and diagrams. This book is awash with information, and covers topics such as Viking sports and pastimes, trading and boat-building.

Fury of the Vikings

Dominic Sandbrook

This is part of the Adventures in Time series, which is very popular here. It is one for older children and confident readers, being over 300 pages long. There are seven chapters on the role of the Vikings in British history spread through the book, from the Great Heathen Army through to Harald Hardrada and Stamford Bridge.

The Chessmen Thief

Barbara Henderson

A historic fiction book looking at the abduction of slaves from the Hebridean islands by the Vikings. The protagonist, Kylan, is attempting to get home to Lewis. The book features the real ‘Lewis Chessmen’ discovered in 1831. Lots of adventures and excitement along the way.

The Vikings (Naxos Junior Classics audiobook)

David Angus

We learned so much from this audiobook! A very thorough coverage of Viking life and history, including some of the sagas. Content warning: there are a few gory moments.

Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History

Geraldine McCaughrean and Richard Brassey

This book contains 100 illustrated stories from British history, beginning with Gog and Magog, and running up to the stranding of the Braer oil tanker in 1993. Of particular interest from this period, it includes stories of Hengist and Horsa, Vortigern, Gregory and the angels, Alfred and the cakes, and King Canute and the waves. These are very much dramatised stories rather than a pure historical narrative. For reasons of the mixing of history and legend, this isn’t my favourite book, although I think lots of children would enjoy it, and the stories are part of our culture. There is a little box for each story explaining the historical basis, and to what extent it is likely to be legend.

This Sceptered Isle (audiobook)

This BBC radio series was not written for children, but I find it fairly easily accessible for older children who like history. This period in between the departure of the Romans and the Norman Conquest can be difficult to follow. There were quite number of different British kingdoms, and various arrivals of Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings. Viking control over different parts of the country waxed and waned.

I have found This Sceptered Isle very helpful for straightening out the events of this time period in my own head so that I am able to teach it clearly. The episodes are short, and there is plenty of reference to original sources.