Friends, I hope your classroom library shelves are bursting with titles your students can't wait to read. Today I have a Norse mythology gem to share with you. Happy reading!

Title: Children of Ragnarok​

Author: Cinda Williams Chima

Genre: Fantasy, mythology

Age range: 12+

Summary: Set in the Midlands after Ragnarok, siblings Eiric and Liv set sail away from their murderous step-father’s family and towards New Jotunheim, the refuge of magical wyrdspinners. At the same time, Reginn escapes her slaver master in order to accept an invitation to learn from the wyrdspinners in New Jotunheim—but once all three reach the fabled shores, they discover a great evil that lurks beneath paradise’s surface.

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It's similar to:

• ​Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series by Rick Riordan (stories steeped in Norse mythology)
• ​The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (main character who grows from vagabond to powerful magic user within a setting of ancient mythological beings and power-hungry rulers)
• ​Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett (marginalized members of society with latent magical power who are called on to eradicate great evils)

How I'd teach it: This is a great title to have on your shelves and to recommend to these types of students:

• Advanced middle school readers who are ready for a challenging text (it's 400+ pages with multiple narrators and filled with Norse mythology terms and references) but don’t want overly mature content (though it does include violence and sex is alluded to).
• Your high schoolers who, when they were younger, loved the mythology in Rick Riordan’s series (Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, Kane Chronicles) but need something more challenging now.
• Bonus: I’d also use this as a mentor text in a mythology unit. It’s a great example of how myths are re-imagined and expanded upon today.

Learn more:

• Show students the Book Trailer featured on Cinda Williams Chima's website to get them excited for this title.
• Read an interview with Chima, including what sparked her interest in Norse mythology.

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Literacy Love Notes:

🎥 I highly recommend taking 6 minutes to watch Jason Reynolds speak with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show. Your students will love it, too.

📚 Need something simple to jazz up your classroom library? I offer a free Book Recommendation poster on TPT. It's a small addition that can have an outsized positive impact on your classroom reading culture.

Have a good one and learn everything you can,

Hannah

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