Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom tell the story of Bjorn, a Viking from Sweden and "how he acquired his many fearsome-looking scars. I found this book to be both entertaining and informational. The authors provide illustrations and descriptions that help to define the Viking culture. I would consider this book to be authored for middle age children. There were some example through the illustrations (the Viking urinating off the side of the boat and a Viking woman holding up two melons in front of her chest) and text (using the words pee and poop instead of urine and feces) that was indicator of the target audience.
The book also seemed accurate. The author page states that the Manning and Granstrom "have created over forty picture books together," and in "1996 they received the Smarties Prize in England for The World Is Full of Babies."
Because of the intended audience, there is not a need for academic research but that being said, the book tends to be accurate with the information it is providing. The authors do use stereotypical illustrations and descriptions of Vikings. I do not think they go overboard in describing how the Vikings are viewed in history. They even describe how Bjorn becomes a farmer when he settles down which is historically accurate when it comes to many Vikings.
This book could be used in the classroom to show students all the different tools, customs and inventions that made up the Viking culture. The book does do a great job at showing the reader the different tools that helped Vikings in daily life. The illustrations in the book also show and describe another huge aspect in Viking culture, the sea and all the different boats the Vikings used to navigate it. ( )

A viking explains what their lifestyle was like way long ago. Moving from country to country holding different jobs, a viking proudly collects many different scars and shares his stories. ( )

What a Viking! is a wonderful informational children's book. I does have a fictional story that leads the book along but it is more informational about a Viking's life from childhood to adulthood. The illustrations are packed with funny things to look at but it also depicts illustrations of pieces from museums so children can see what the objects that vikings used looked like. ( )

There are many Viking books for children, but this is the one I recommend first. It tells an interesting story with humorous illustrations, and factual sidebars that are a lot more accurate than most other books for young readers. ( )