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Near the Top of the World: Stories of Norway, Sweden & Denmark cover

Near the Top of the World: Stories of Norway, Sweden & Denmark

Chapter 25: BOOKS TO READ
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About This Book

Aimed at elementary readers, this collection offers short, accessible portraits of everyday life, customs, landscapes, and folklore across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Based on the author's travels and photographs, the pieces follow children in fishing villages, mountain pastures, Lapp reindeer camps, and Danish flatlands, and describe seasonal phenomena such as the polar night and the midnight sun, winter sports, festivals, and school routines. Adapted folk tales and Viking-era stories appear alongside rooms and exhibits from open-air museums, with controlled vocabulary and pedagogical notes to support classroom use.

BOOKS TO READ

While you are studying about Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, you will enjoy reading one or more of these books.

1. Aanrud, H., Lisbeth Longfrock. Ginn and Company: Boston.

A story of farm life in Norway long ago. Note.—A new translation of this is published by the John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, under the title, Sidsel Longskirt and Solve Suntrap.

2. Asbjornsen, P. C., Fairy Tales from the Far North, Burt Publishing Company.

Stories that children of the far north read.

3. Aulaire, Ingri M. d’, and Aulaire, Edgar P. d’, Children of the Northlights. Viking Press: New York.

Stories of Lapp children with many beautiful illustrations.

4. Bay, J. C., Danish Fairy and Folk Tales. Harper and Brothers: New York.

More stories that children of the far north read.

5. Burglon, N., Children of the Soil. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

A story of Sweden, which tells of old Swedish customs.

6. Everson, F. M., and Everson, H., Coming of the Dragon Ships. E. P. Dutton and Company: New York.

Two Viking children, their adventures and everyday doings.

7. Falkberg, J., Broomstick and Snowflake. Macmillan Company: New York.

Fairy tales with one especially amusing story about a giant.

8. Hamsun, M. A., Norwegian Farm. Lippincott Company: Philadelphia.

Translated from the Norwegian—a picture of farm life of present-day Norway and of the doings of a lively family of children.

9. Lagerlof, S. O. L., Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

An interesting story by one of Sweden’s best story-tellers. Nils flies over Sweden on the back of a goose. This book was written to help in making geography interesting for Swedish children.

10. Lattimore, E. F., Seven Crowns. Harcourt, Brace and Company: New York.

A little girl visits her grandmother in Copenhagen and spends seven crowns as she pleases.

11. Palm, A., Wanda and Greta at Broby Farm. Longmans, Green and Company: New York.

This is translated from the Swedish and tells what happened to two little girls and their dog.

12. Scott, G., Kari. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

A story of a girl in Norway.

13. Schram, C. W., Olaf, Lofoten Fisherman. Longmans, Green and Company: New York.

Olaf lives in the Lofoten Islands and goes fishing.

14. Thorne-Thomsen, G., East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon. Row, Petersen and Company: Evanston, Ill.

A collection of Norwegian fairy and folk tales.

15. Zwilgmeyer, D., Johnny Blossom. Pilgrim Press: Boston.

A story of a little boy in Norway some years ago.

16. Zwilgmeyer, D., What Happened to Inger Johanne. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard: Boston.

An amusing story of the doings of a Norwegian girl.


INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY
Key to Pronunciation
ā as in māte
ă as in căt
â as in câre
ȧ as in ȧsk
ä as in färm
ē as in ēve
ĕ as in lĕt
ẽ as in hẽr
ī as in mīnd
ĭ as in ĭt
ō as in mōte
ŏ as in nŏt
ô as in ôr
ū as in mūte
ŭ as in cŭt
û as in bûrn
[=oo] as in f[=00]d
[)oo] as in f[)oo]t

American relations:
trade with, 9, 12, 37, 49, 94
travel in, 10, 30, 49, 90, 115, 117
Independence day in Denmark, 114-17
explorer at North Pole, 180
Scandinavian Foundation, 42
Danish Clubs, 115-16
Amundsen, Roald (äh´mŭn sen, rōld), 176-88
Andersen, Captain, 169-71
Andersen, Hans Christian, 4, 82-9
Antarctic (ȧnt´ärk´tĭk), 185, 186
Arctic Ocean (ärk´tĭk ō´shun), 11-12, 93
Atlantic Ocean, 22, 182
Baltic Sea, 98
bird roosts, 17-19
Bjornson, Bjornstjerne (Byûrn´sŭn, byûrnst´yūrn), 42
boy scouts, 104-6
Brok (brŏk), 156-9
buried treasures, 162-4, 177
cariole (kăr´ĭ ōl), 51
cattle, 27, 60-70, 73, 77-78
Christmas, 32, 108, 109, 110, 111
cities and towns:
Bergen (bĕr´gen), 90-96
Copenhagen (kō´pn hā´gen), 71, 143
Hammerfest (häm ẽr fĕst), 7, 11-14, 184
Odense (ō´thĕn sā), 82, 86
old Danish town, 78
Oslo (ōs´lō), 51, 136, 143, 162
Stockholm (stŏk´holm), 97-106, 146
clothing:
for high pastures, 67
explorers, 182-4
old costumes, 113, 150
coal, 9, 32
co-operation:
Danish plan, 79-81
Danish-American Club, 115-16
dragon boats, 163, 165, 175
eider ducks, 93
electricity:
in far north, 5
on farms, 59
power plants, 32
use of, 7, 11, 129
Ericsson, Leif (ĕr´ĭk sŭn, lēf), 4, 168
factories:
cheese making, 64-6, 79
creameries, 64-6, 78
cod-liver oil, 11, 25
electric power, 32
matches, 37
paper, 36-7
fairy tales:
far north, 26, 153
farms:
Danish co-operative, 79-81
Denmark, 71-81
drying grain, 57-58
fox farms, 56-7
“little farms,” 101
making hay, 53-4, 56
Norway, 51-9
fish:
cod, 20-5, 93
drying, 24-5
halibut, 93
herring, 16, 93
market, 93
shipping, 9
fishermen, 16, 20-5
fishing boats, 16, 17, 20-4
fishing towns, 16, 24
fjord (fyōrd):
cause of, 30-1
travel on, 51-3, 165
flags:
American, 9, 114, 117, 181, 187
Danish, 9
Norwegian, 134, 187-8
other lands, 9
Swedish, 138
food, 66, 75, 95-6, 108, 110
forests, 33
conservation, 37
Fram (främ), 180-8
giants:
fairy tale, 26, 32, 107, 111, 153, 158-61
nature’s, 27, 32
glaciers (glā shŭrz), 27-32, 73
gods, 153
Frey (frī), 153
Loki, or Loke (lō´kē), 153-61
Odin (ō´dĭn), 107, 111
Thor (thôr), 153-61
Tye (tī), 153
Wodin (w[=oo] dĭn, or ō´din), 153
government:
protection of fishermen, 24
providing land, 69-70, 101
Scandinavian union, 134
Norway’s separate government, 134-5
Gudbrand (g[=oo]d´brănd), 174-6
Gulf Stream, 12-13
high pastures, 60-70
Hjalmar (hyäl´mär), 176-8
Hjorvard (hyôr´värd), 172-3, 175
houses:
farm houses, 74-5
fisherman huts, 15-16
Lapp huts, 46-7
old houses, 147-50, 152, 167
saeter huts, 60-1
summer houses, 100-6, 139-42
Stockholm buildings, 103
Independence day:
Norwegian, 134
American in Denmark, 114-17
instruments for direction, 180
islands:
coast of Norway, 14-17
Denmark, 142
Stockholm, 97-8
Ivar (ī´vär), 172-8
Jotunheim (y[=oo] tŭn hīm), 26
knights, 4, 105-6
languages:
foreign, 10, 87, 143
in schools, 136-7
Lapland, 45
Lapps, 44-50
Lofoten (lō fō´ten), 20-5
logging, 33-6
mail delivery, 12, 59
Maypole, 1, 11-14
Mid-summer Eve, 111-114
milkmaids, 60-69
mountains:
carriers, 56
city in midst, 90, 92
high peaks, 26, 32, 52-3
how clothed, 38-42
moss, 44
streams, 34-6
walls, 17, 52-3
museums:
Amundsen’s equipment, 183
Andersen, 86-7
open-air, Oslo, 162-3
open-air, Norway and Sweden, 145-52
Nansen (nän´sĕn), 179-80
national anthem:
Norwegian, 133
northern seashores, 12
Norsk (nôrsk):
words, 136
North Cape, 11
North Pole, 179-80
North Sea, 90
Odense (ō´thĕn sā), 82, 86
Oseborg (ōs´bûrg), ship, 162
Oslo (ōs´lō), 51, 136, 144, 162
palace, 103, 104, 136
paper pulp, 36-7
pirates, 98, 168
plateau (pla to):
King Haaken VII’s (häw´kōhn), 186
quay (kē), 102-3
rainfall, 92
reindeer (rān´dēr), 1, 43-8, 68-9
saeter (sā tẽr), 60-70
Grotli (grōt´l[~i]), 68
huts, 60, 63-4
location of, 69-70
schools:
Danish, 71-2, 80-1, 142-4
Lapp, 47-9
libraries, 144
Norwegian, 132-7
studies, 131, 134
Swedish, 137-42
Viking education, 173-6
ships:
of different nations, 9
on northern seas, 12
passenger, 10
Sif (sĭf), 154-5, 157
Sigrlin (sĭgr´lĭn), 172, 175
South Pole, 181, 187-8
sports:
races, 141-2
sail-skating, 124-7
skating, 111, 127
skiing, 1, 111, 118-24, 181, 186
swimming, 102, 139-42
teaching of, 138
sun, 3, 5, 6, 7, 18, 182, 183
sunshine:
days without, 5, 13, 20
nights with, 7, 20
Thor (thôr), 153-61
travel:
automobile, 27, 53, 67
boats, 12, 14, 67, 73
dog sleds, 182, 186
on mountain roads, 62-3, 51, 67
railways, 12, 51, 97
cariole, 51
skis, 120-1, 181
trees:
birds’ Christmas, 109
birch, 15, 38
fir, 38, 108, 112
juniper, 38
most northern, 9
pine, 112
spruce, 108, 112
Viking (vī´kĭng or vīk´ĭng):
boats, 2, 163, 165, 174-6
boy, 172-8
custom of “name fastening,” 172-3
how named, 165
modern, 169-71
tales of, 165-9
waterfalls, 32
wind on flat lands, 125-6
windmills, 74
wood, uses of, 8, 36, 93-4, 103
woodcutters, 34
Yule-tide, 33, 107-11
Yule-tree, 1, 33, 108-9