The Vikings' Secret Weapon

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available.


Discover how the Vikings raided, traded and invaded for 300 years across Europe and beyond. Learn all about the Vikings’ secret weapon: the longship and just how powerful it was.




Copper/Band 12 books provide more complex plots and longer chapters that develop reading stamina.


The idea for a children’s book about Viking longships came to Ben Hubbard while researching his adults’ book: The Viking Warrior. Longships were key to the Viking success in their raiding, trading and invading exploits. A technological wonder of the age, the longship enabled both swift attacks on coastal settlements as well as long sea voyages to far flung destinations, such as the Black Sea, Greenland and North America. The striped sail of the longship remains an enduring symbol of the Vikings to the present day and also graces the cover of this book for Collins: The Vikings’ Secret Weapon.