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Grendel: A Cautionary Tale About Chocolate
Grendel loves his mum and Grendel loves his dog, but most of all Grendel loves CHOCOLATE! When he is magically granted three wishes, what does he wish for? More chocolate of course! He gets rather more than he asks for when his whole world turns to chocolate and starts to melt... Whatever can he do? This fresh and fun re-telling of the Midas story has a message for us all – be careful what you wish for!
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2013
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
David Lucas
159 books18 followersDavid Lucas has written and illustrated several books for children and was named a Booktrust Best New Illustrator. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 18, 2019
This story is about a little monster called Grendel who finds a note inside a chocolate egg that grants him three wishes. His first wish works well but his second, not so much. He has to use his third wish very carefully to get himself out of a sticky situation.
The focus on chocolate in this story really gets the children's attention and excites them.
This story could be linked to Aladdin or other stories in which the characters have to wish for something.
A great story teaching children to be careful about what they wish for.
The focus on chocolate in this story really gets the children's attention and excites them.
This story could be linked to Aladdin or other stories in which the characters have to wish for something.
A great story teaching children to be careful about what they wish for.
December 13, 2019
This is a great tale about not being to greedy! I love Lucas work and can really start seeing the similarities with his typologies and basic ingredients. I grew to love and feel very sorry for Grendel but we should all be careful of what we wish for...
May 25, 2016
Grendel is about a young monster who lives in a cave with his mum and dog. There is one thing that Grendel loves most…chocolate! Grendel receives three wishes inside a chocolate egg, there is only one thing Grendel wants to wish for…more chocolate! He wishes everything he touches turns to chocolate.
I read this story with a year 1 class and it provided various good discussion topics. I used the ‘touch the rainbow, taste the rainbow’ skittles advert to discuss whether or not Grendel’s wish was a good one. Before watching the video the class thought it was a fantastic wish but after watching what the consequences could be the majority changed their mind. After reading on we realised that Grendel’s wish wasn’t as clever as first expected. He ends up turning his mum and dog to chocolate before remembering he had one wish remaining. The children had the task of thinking what Grendel might wish for and then predicting the ending to the story. Lots of the class thought he would wish that everything he touched would turn back to normal. After reading on we found out that Grendel wished it was yesterday. This linked well to our maths topic of time, we were able to discuss why this was a good wish.
Another good topic of discussion was whether or not Grendel was a good little monster. He starts of very selfish and greedy at the start. The incident of turning his mum and dog to chocolate changes him for the better, he becomes far more respectful and generous.
Overall the class thoroughly enjoyed the book. It caused huge excitement every time we read it and it generated some fantastic lessons and discussions. I would recommend this book for year 1.
I read this story with a year 1 class and it provided various good discussion topics. I used the ‘touch the rainbow, taste the rainbow’ skittles advert to discuss whether or not Grendel’s wish was a good one. Before watching the video the class thought it was a fantastic wish but after watching what the consequences could be the majority changed their mind. After reading on we realised that Grendel’s wish wasn’t as clever as first expected. He ends up turning his mum and dog to chocolate before remembering he had one wish remaining. The children had the task of thinking what Grendel might wish for and then predicting the ending to the story. Lots of the class thought he would wish that everything he touched would turn back to normal. After reading on we found out that Grendel wished it was yesterday. This linked well to our maths topic of time, we were able to discuss why this was a good wish.
Another good topic of discussion was whether or not Grendel was a good little monster. He starts of very selfish and greedy at the start. The incident of turning his mum and dog to chocolate changes him for the better, he becomes far more respectful and generous.
Overall the class thoroughly enjoyed the book. It caused huge excitement every time we read it and it generated some fantastic lessons and discussions. I would recommend this book for year 1.
May 29, 2017
Grendel is a monster who LOVES chocolate. So when he gets three wishes, of course he wishes for everything he touches to turn into chocolate. But there's a catch, and when Grendel's dog, and grendel's mum turn into chocolate, Grendel begins to regret being so greedy. This is a charmingly illustrated book, and I loved Grendel's facial expressions as he realises what is happening. Great for talking about consequences, and wishes, and chocolate!
February 4, 2015
An interesting cautionary tale combining chocolate and monsters. Clever fodder for kids to consume.
March 31, 2019
This book is good for children
July 3, 2022
Cute children’s book
March 31, 2014
Absolutely delightful.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews