The Falcon of Eric the Red

This book was great to learn about Vikings and their culture. It was a little too hard to follow for my younger kids. We still learned a lot from it though!

Read aloud with my 8 yr old for history unit about the vikings and explorers. I can honestly say I did not expect to cry while reading a book about falcons but this story got to my heart. I struggled a bit with the names and pronunciation but we found our stride and often I found myself scanning ahead to be sure things were going to be ok but quickly brought back as my daughter said “don’t read ahead!” I thought it was a wonderful introduction to early explorers visits to America and what it might have been like, fascinating information about falcons and what they are like. I was vested in the characters and their well being. We both enjoyed this one.

I really liked how this brought the Viking time period to life. It follows a boy named Jon who has such great qualities. Jon is a falcon trainer and you grow to really love his character. I also learned a lot about falcons. There are a lot of great layers to this book. Layers of great character, history, and nature.

This is another read-aloud that my eight year old took over and read on his own. He loved the history as well as the intriguing relationship between boy and bird.

I was reading this book to myself, but then my 13-year-old son started reading over my shoulder when I told him it was about Viking adventures and falcons. The next thing I knew, he was holding the book, and I was reading over his shoulder!