Beowulf [Hardcover]

Michael Morpurgo (Author), Michael Foreman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2006 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

The acclaimed author and illustrator of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT return with an exhilarating edition of Britain's oldest epic.

Long ago there was a Scandinavian warrior who fought three evils so powerful they could destroy whole kingdoms. Standing head and shoulders above his comrades, Beowulf single-handedly saves the land of the Danes from a merciless ogre named Grendel and then from his sea-hag mother. But it is his third terrible battle, with the death-dragon of the deep, in which he truly meets his match. Lovers of heroes, monsters, and the drama of battle will find this retelling as enthralling as it is tragic.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Morpurgo retells the classic story of the courageous young warrior from the land of Geats (now southern Sweden) who used his brute strength to save the neighboring Danes, then his own kinsmen, by slaying two horrible monsters, a sea serpent, and a massive dragon. The tale has been divided into three segments: the story of the monster Grendel's defeat; the slaying of his mother, the sea-hag; and the battle with the death dragon of the deep. Morpurgo has retold the tale in twisting, long-winded sentences that call to mind the way in which old epics were recounted by poets and bards. The text-filled pages framed with a Celtic-style border are broken up with small watercolor illustrations tucked here and there to help move things along. Many attractive full-page watercolor and pastel paintings illustrate important action-filled scenes–battles, a banquet, and Beowulf's funeral pyre. Morpurgo's short acknowledgment states that his inspiration for this version of the Old English classic came from the likes of Seamus Heaney, Rosemary Sutcliffe, and Kevin Crossley-Holland. The lack of introductory material and historical background is noticeable but overall this is a fine retelling.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In dignified, stately prose, Morpurgo retells the ancient epic that "troubles and terrifies us now as much as ever it did our ancestors, for we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness and beyond." Matching the heroic tone of the narrative is Foreman's elegant watercolor art, which portrays dim, torch-lit medieval settings and epic battles between the gallant Beowulf and the terrifying monsters. The richly delineated illustrations make the book appear to be for middle-grades, but Morpurgo's Beowulf, like Rosemary Sutcliff's version (1961), retains the robust, violent nature of the original tale and is best suited for somewhat older students. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763632066
• ISBN-13: 978-0763632069
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.6 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Norse

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A scary classic, June 19, 2007

By 

Mary Mackay "bookish" (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beowulf (Hardcover)

This children's adaptation of the ancient ballad is pretty good. The illustrations are beautiful and the paper quality is excellent. I knocked a star off because I have read several other versions of the poem and they had a beauty of language which is lacking in this adaptation. I wouldn't recommend it for bedtime reading or for children under 9 as it is really scary and gory in parts (flesh being ripped apart, blood everywhere and bodies left for days unburied - nightmare material!). This book is a keeper mostly for it pictures but also for its historical significance - its one of the earliest recorded poems in the world.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beowulf, March 13, 2007

By 

A. Zanetti (Suisun City, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beowulf (Hardcover)

This is an excellent version for older kids. OUr 8 year old was so engaged and actively rooted for the demise of Grendel and the Sea Hag. The illustrations are expressive without being scary. This book is a perfect way to introduce classics to a child.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant version, well illustrated, but a read aloud classic which really works, May 25, 2009

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beowulf (Paperback)

This is a brilliant telling of the tale of Beowulf - utterly brilliant. It has the feel of the traditional classic story - all the discussion between various parties and the fillers which must have turned this tale into a mead-hall classic in its own day. And utterly fascinating to my pre-ten year old children.

Beowulf is probably from the 5th or 6th century sometime, and dates from around the same time that King Arthur was in Britain (around the 5th or 6th century also) so while King Arthur was uniting Britain, Beowulf, Hrothgar and the danes and Geats would have been pillaging it and bring their wealth back to Denmark etc. And interesting cross over if you are interested.

Anyway - this story has been retold in very lyrical prose, and has a great story telling feel. It is easy to read aloud and for kids to listen to.

The outline of the story is that King Hrothgar of the Danes has been very successful with life and his kingdom is strong and he has many loyal Thanes and friends. To celebrate he builds a massive mead-hall - in it to celebrate. However as he is celebrating deep in the bowels of the earth a hell-born monster - Grendel - hears. Grendel hates the happiness, joy and pleasure he hears, and seeks to destroy it. He kills everyone in the mead-hall that night. For the next 14 years he rules Denmark, night is his time and no one can stop him.

Beowulf hears of the plight and choosing 14 of his strongest men he travels to Denmark from his home land of the Geats to kill Grendel. He knows he can, he has performed many other feats of strength - killing three giants for instance in his own land. Hrothgar accepts him and his claims, but (rather amusingly I think) the other Thanes in the hall think he is - essentially a blow hard. By the end of the evening Beowulf has got them accepting that he can indeed kill Grendel, and they all sing of how he has killed Grendel even before he has done it.

So he goes on and kills Grendel, then he has to kill the Sea-hag, which is Grendel's mother and later the sea monster. This is an excellent book of his feats, and is well retold

While I partly loved the illustrations - the colours are beautiful - some of the illustrations were a little too primitive - I felt. However the borders round each of the pages were very pretty and a lovely touch.

King ARthur and Beowulf are really big in our house at the moment, we have been reading from both of them for the last few weeks and it is a fascinating journey back. This is of course the transition from pagan to christianity - both of which are mentioned in these books and it is interesting that both seem to co-exist quite happily with each other.

The best thing about this story is that it is a strong tale and has been retold well without losing anything from the story itself.