Leif the Lucky by Ingri d'Aulaire

Leif the Lucky Reviews

• 
  Robin Hobb

  Often I have grandchildren stay with me. When that happens, we visit the library and choose some books to share. Even the youngest two are perfectly capable of reading to themselves, but there is still something about reading a book aloud and sharing it. For a one night read, I like to choose lavishly illustrated books that can be finished in one pre-bedtime reading.
  
  Leif the Lucky certainly fills that bill. The illustrations are in an older style, but simply wonderful to pause and pick out details from. I will add that while Ingrid d'Aulaire is solely credited above, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire deserves equal credit. The simple lines, the bright colors, and the background details invite the reader to linger on each page.
  
  I will add that when I was a child, with no concrete evidence, my grandmother told me that Leif the Lucky was one of my ancestors. According to her, he had one stripe of green in one of his blue eyes, and that was a sign not just of luck but of extraordinary vision. And, my eldest son has just such a stripe in one of his eyes. And that makes me smile, and sent my grandchildren racing off to a mirror to see if they had such a stripe!
  
  We enjoyed this book because it is written in a way that brings to life the beliefs of the time. Take down the dragon head on the prow, lest you anger the spirits as you approach land. There is so much detail in this telling that it is obvious that the authors researched the accounts given at the time of Leif's adventures. Historical characters figure largely in the tale.
  
  You do not have to be a child or have children to enjoy this book. After my grandson and I had read it, we handed it off to my husband.
• 
  Heather

  We finished this today and I was told it was "really super boring". Some days I just want to send them to public school!
  
  But the other son quickly jumped in and said it wasn't boring, but really cool. Well, I liked it. I thought it well written and engaging. The illustrations were excellent and each page had either a large colored picture or a smaller brown or black ink drawing.
  
  We learned a lot and tracked their journeys on a map. Even though it "was boring" they were able to tell me a lot about it and I noticed them looking at the pictures the whole time. I'll use this book again.
• 
  Jessica

  Beautifully illustrated, simple and clear history of Leif "the Lucky" Erikson, who explored the coast of North America hundreds of years before any other European. My kids were fascinated by this, and I only had to fill in a couple of blanks.
• 
  Luisa Knight

  Want to learn about the first European to reach North America? This book covers the life of Leif Erikson with a very well-told narrative and such rich and detailed illustrations. Your kids will sit attentively for this adventure story!
  
  Ages: 4 - 8
  
  Cleanliness: mentions the Norse gods and some of the Norse beliefs.
  
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• 
  Kelly Barker

  This is a gorgeous book that portrays the life of Leif Erikson and how he found America.
• 
  Kevin Brown

  Delightful, as expected from the d'Aulaires. Fun for the whole family, with an interesting story, history, geography, and pictures to linger over.
• 
  Rachel

  It seems that every explorer finds a place that is already inhabited and as history shows us, most explorers aren't thrilled about this fact. This book tries to sidestep this power dynamic by negotiating with the dignity of the natives that Leif's brother finds by representing them as cartoonish, buffoonish people who are good for trading fur and an occasional laugh (p. 40 -46). Just looking at the illustrations demonstrates this problem -- all the Norse are jolly smiling people while the Natives are anxious, ferocious, or apparently slaphappy. They mentioned the Norse called the Natives "Skraeling" (which can mean "screamer" or "barbarian" or "weakling") with no explanation of the demeaning connotation of the word.
  
  The book states that the Natives made Vinland "too dangerous to live in" so they wouldn't inhabit it, but sail over to cut down trees from there every once in a while... If the Natives made it "dangerous"... I repeat: They.were.defending.their.people.and.their.home. They.already.lived.there.
  
  ...And the back cover shows a picture of both a Scandinavian boy and Native American boy contentedly sighing and smiling as they sit across each other from the fire seemingly indicating that both parties got what they wanted from these encounters...
• 
  Julia

  We really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more of their biographies.
• 
  Meghan Armstrong

  My favorite d'Aulaire so far and that's really saying something!
• 
  Isabella Leake

  My favorite d'Aulaire biography we've read so far! I'm pretty sure it's not *just* because I gave it to my Norse-loving husband for Christmas before we had any children, dreaming of reading it to them in the future. But it was certainly special to get to do that, nine years later.
  
  The text seems to be an adaptation of the "Vinland sagas" (The Saga of Eirik the Red and The Saga of the Greenlanders). These sagas are already masterpieces of storytelling, and the adapted story, not surprisingly, reads beautifully. The d'Aulaires add description and vivid detail, making the stories a bit more explanatory and therefore child-friendly, still taking their cue from the original texts. All in all, it's a very successful retelling, and the illustrations are both unfailingly faithful to the narrative (not always the case in picture books but delightful when it is) and imaginative. To my eye they do a good job capturing the artistic spirit and aesthetic sense of the culture and time period.
  
  There are all sorts of adventures mingled with down-to-earth details, such as Leif pausing to comb his hair before his audience with King Olav of Norway. One of my favorite pages is the spread where Leif's family land on unsettled Greenland and can finally prepare a hot meal again after many days and much peril at sea. The child Leif remarks, "Fair is the smell of the porridge pot."
• 
  emyrose8

  An interesting biography of Leif Erickson told more like a story. Other people are talked about too, and it’s almost more about the discovery of America/Greenland/Iceland than about Leif. Great illustrations!
• 
  Every Other Wednesday

  Yes it's a kids' book, and yes it is wonderful and endearing. I'm fortunate enough to own a couple of the d'Aulaires' books and this one is no exception to the trend of intricate and gorgeous illustrations. Were I to ever raise children, this one would hands down be in the bedtime rotation. Often.
• 
  M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews

  Overall a pretty fun book, I always loved Ingri d'Aulaire's illustrations.
• 
  Brittany

  Not sure how the kids felt, but I found this to be a great read aloud resource for Leif and a brief introduction to Erik the Red, Native Americans, and the idea of new continents being discovered.
  
  The kids weren’t engrossed in the illustrations, and while I personally find them fascinating, I’m not sure my rating will reflect the usual flair for D’Aulaire.
  
  
• 
  Rebecca Lumbrix

  Sometimes you just want to read a kids book! I’ve always been interested in Viking history (my grandparents were from Denmark), and I enjoyed this simple story about Leif Erikson. The illustrations are lovely and the story is a pleasing blend of folklore and history.
• 
  Kristiana

  Sea voyages, adventures, battles, and white polar bear cubs on a leash! What's not to like?!
• 
  Jacque

  I read this book aloud for school. The kids all gave it 4 stars. It was a good book about Leif Erickson. It is hard to know how accurate it is because so little is known about these people.
• 
  Ruth Barone

  Another well-done book by the D'Aulaires. I just can't get enough of these guys!
  
  Leif is the son of Erik the Red, a famous Viking. Erik has a hard time getting along with his fellow Vikings and is kicked out of Norway. He moves to Iceland but it is too crowded for him, so he strikes out to find a new unexplored land where there can be lots of space between neighbors. He and some of his followers eventually make it to Greenland and settle there.
  
  Some visitors that got lost in a fog accidentally sailed south and stumbled upon Canada, but never landed there. Leif decides to go exploring and finds the place they speak of, wooded and full of grapes and other food. Some Vikings move down there and settle until they are chased away by the Native Americans.
  
  As the years pass, food for the Vikings in Greenland becomes scarce and the lack of food and the cold causes them to become smaller in stature. They lose their ship building skills and the lumber to build them, becoming trapped in their new home. They eventually become Eskimos.
  
  I'm not sure how much of this story is truth and how much is myth, but now I really want to find out! More research on this topic is definitely in my future. :) Another great addition to our children's library, and a fun, beautifully illustrated look into the lives of a few brave Vikings and their adventures.
  
• 
  Alicia

  I got this at a thrift store because I've heard on a homeschooling podcast that the authors were really good. Short review - this is not a living book. It is not wholesome and character-building. I would not give this to my son without an in-depth discussion about author bias afterwards.
  
  The drawings are very intricate and mostly interesting. I suppose it's historical; it is very sad to read of the ways the Norsemen cheated the Indigenous people of North America as well as held other people as slaves (thralls). The authors do not explain that this was wrong in the story but instead hold the Norsemen up as always the good guys. So one star for the story itself (and history) and two for some of the artwork.
• 
  Michiel

  This one I read along with younger son. I would stay a page or two ahead of him, so that I could be sure he was comprehending the material. Although the book is slender and has lots of pictures, which is why I'm sure that he chose it, it is more advanced than it looks. The book has a rich vocabulary, and the word choices match the fact that this is very old history being told.
  
  The pictures are marvellous, and the story is good, though not quite as good as others by the same author. My son enjoyed the book and said he would recommend it to anyone.
• 
  Anna

  I really like this author's approach to children's literature because she combines great details and story in long pages of the 50+page book but also includes beautiful illustrations that make it come alive for readers young and old. It is a great transition from picture books to chapter stories for elementary readers and gives great details about Leif Erikson a Norwegian explorer who discovered the coast of Canada around 1000 AD.
  
  I also really love her book on Lincoln. Great for read aloud to all ages or for a 3-5th grade independent reader.
• 
  Cindi

  We have really enjoyed all of the books and art that we have read by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. Leif the Lucky was no exception. Even though there is surely some fiction to be weaved into these stories, it's also nice to read an entertaining book that helps us learn more about history. This one was especially fun for me since I have ancestors who came from Norway. I got to talk to the kids about how each generation carried a different last name, making family history tricky!
• 
  Ebookwormy1

  You cannot go wrong with the D'Aulaire's and this work is no exception. Beautiful art and compelling text bring the world of the Vikings, with it's beauty and grit, to life. The attention to detail in creating a Norse feel to the entire work is admirable. A pleasure for an adult to share with a child. Early elementary students may find it long winded and worthy of a couple sittings, but it is worth it. Recommended for study of the time period.
• 
  Melissa Namba

  I feel bad for only giving this three stars because it really didn't click with me. It is based on Norse mythology and I am a Greek and Roman fan. However, I think it is pretty clear in the writing that the D'Aulaires are also Greek/Roman fans and that this was kind of just a small outside venture. And the closing comment about this is why the American Indians were left alone for so long is a little...tasteless?
• 
  Jessica Atwater

  The illustrations are works of art and the story surprisingly detailed for such a short book. I find this one of the d'Aulaires most vivid and nuanced biographies, probably because it is closer to myth, which they excell at. The depictions of the natives require some discussion with young people, but we should always be discussing bias in our history reading. This is a book I will enjoy re-reading more than once.
• 
  Willow

  Wow. I am confused by the high rating of this book. While this book starts out fine, it soon becomes terrible as the descriptions of native Americans (both pictures and words) show the racism and ignorance of the authors. We had a conversation about the negative depiction of Indigenous People, which is always valuable, but I would rather have read a different book where we could have talked about the history of the people instead.
• 
  Astra

  It's a very good story and actually funny at points too. They arrived at Newfoundland and called it Vinland and they Ballin Island and called it Stone-Slabland. In Vinland they found Native Americans (or native Newfloundlanders) and made friends with the Native Americans but the natives got angry at them once and there was a big black ball thing that they were shooting at the Norsemen.