The Icelandic nation has a long and rich history of storytelling. Throughout centuries characterized by hardship, poverty, and dark winters, the Icelanders kept their spirits high and moral values intact by telling each other stories. In this collection of 15 Icelandic folk legends, we get a glimpse of the world view of the Icelanders in centuries past as they endeavored to understand and cope with the natural phenomena around them. There are stories of malicious ghosts, outlaws living in carved-out boulders, hidden people residing in grassy knolls...

Magic and myth inhabit these chapters in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers. These stories, set in Norway's majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

After more than 20 years away, Alda Sigmundsdottir returned to her native Iceland as a foreigner. With a native person's insight yet an outsider's perspective, Alda quickly set about dissecting the national psyche of the Icelanders. This second edition, from 2018, contains new and updated chapters from the original edition, reflecting the changes in Icelandic society and among the Icelandic people since the book was first published in 2012.

Christmas in Iceland is special. Ask any Icelander and they will tell you. It is a time of year when everything pulsates with vibrant activity, and the nation delights in those festive traditions that make them a tribe. Music is all around, friends gather, restaurants are filled with people partaking of festive Yuletide offerings, authors are out and about reading from their new works. Everything pulsates with a vibrant, happy energy. There is even a word for the gleeful excitement one feels when waiting for Christmas — jólaskap, literally “Christmas mood”.

Trolls haunt the snowy forests, and terrifying monsters roam the open sea. A young woman journeys to the end of the world, and a boy proves he knows no fear. This collection of 16 traditional tales transports readers to the enchanting world of Nordic folklore. Translated and transcribed by folklorists in the 19th century, and presented here unabridged, the stories are by turns magical, hilarious, cozy, and chilling. They offer a fascinating view into Nordic culture and a comforting wintertime listen.

The islands of Britain and Ireland hold a rich heritage of plant folklore and wisdom, from the magical yew tree to the bad-tempered dandelion. Here are traditional tales about the trees and plants that shape our landscapes and our lives through the seasons. They explore the complex relationship between people and plants, in lowlands and uplands, fields, bogs, moors, woodlands and towns. 

The history of Iceland began 1,200 years ago, when a frustrated Viking captain and his useless navigator ran aground in the middle of the North Atlantic. Suddenly, the island was no longer just a layover for the Arctic tern. Instead, it became a nation whose diplomats and musicians, sailors and soldiers, volcanoes and flowers, quietly altered the globe forever. How Iceland Changed the World takes readers on a tour of history, showing them how Iceland played a pivotal role in events as diverse as the French Revolution, the Moon Landing, and the foundation of Israel.

This course includes lessons 1 through 5 from the Icelandic Level 1 program, featuring 2.5 hours of language instruction. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons is included in each lesson.

Ancient, rich, and strange, this collection of eerie tales from across Britain and Ireland have influenced our culture and the folklore that followed. 

A collection of 28 Scottish fairy tales, perfect for children (and adults) of all ages. Herein you will find what may be called Celtic stories, which were handed down for centuries by word of mouth by professional storytellers who went about from clachan to clachan in the Highlands and Islands, earning a night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment.

Diana Paxson has distilled her years of experience working with the runes and teaching others into this one definitive sourcework. In a series of chapters dealing with rune pairs, listeners will learn the historical meaning of each individual rune and its use and meaning now, in contemporary culture. But as Paxson shares, the real power of the runes comes from internalizing them and using their symbols as sources of wisdom and strength. 

With this book you will hear about heroic stories of gods and goddesses, mythical creatures, fairy tales, and epic tales of love and betrayal. Misty rolling hills, lochs, rugged mountains, and mysterious creatures form the grounds for the myths and legends. This audiobook covers all this and much more, including Celtics beliefs, ways of worship, and rituals; the mysterious tombs of the Celtics and how they aligned with the stars; how nature and her sacred creatures have shaped Celtic culture; and more.

This small volume completes the translation of Karel Erben’s A Hundred Genuine Popular Slavonie Fairy Stories. The first volume, Segnius Irritant, maps out, so to say, the primitive folklore weather myth of which nearly the whole of the succeeding 92 stories are wholly or in part reproductions.

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel", "Hansel and Gretel", and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style.

Studies have shown that if you meaningfully communicate with your child, they will gradually become attuned to you. True education begins when parents impart valuable life lessons to their child in a way that they understand. An amazing transformation occurs within such children when they are told fantastic stories on topics that involve hope, courage, patience, and empathy. This wonderful book is a collection of many short stories on various positive themes that are specifically crafted to help children relax and become more restful.