Customer Reviews

Beowulf

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I read this aloud to two preteen grandsons. They stopped playing computer games to listen. Get it and read it aloud.