Beowulf: Grendel the Ghastly

by Michelle Szobody

Retells the heroic efforts of Beowulf, son of Edgetheow, to save the people of Heorot hall from the terrible monster, Grendel.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Medieval

26 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer]

Who is the target audience for this book? Children? If so, you’d have to stop many, many times and explain vocabulary. Plus, is a child going to understand the pronunciation guides? What about the terms in the appendix? Many of those are high school level. But this isn’t a graphic novel, which is generally the format authors use to make “classics” more accessible to tweens/teens.

The illustrations are good, although several of the pictures use such dark colors you can’t make out much detail.

I’m so confused by the choices that went into making this book. And if I were still teaching high school ELA, I can’t see myself using this—and I like using picture books.

[Shawntel Chisholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a British literature teacher, I consider Beowulf to be a masterpiece. Being a forensics coach, I'm always looking for ideas for my students. Hence this book. Michelle Szobody has adapted Beowulf into children's literature - beautifully illustrated children's literature. Szobody has captured the feeling evoked by reading Beowulf, but she has also made the book accessible to lower-elementary aged children.

[Sara Tiede · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done abridgement and great moody artwork! The translation is wonderfully true to the style of the original, with excellent alliteration, while remaining highly conversational and readable. The pictures were highly expressive, with a smooth animated style that avoided being cartoon-ish. I haven't come across the rest of the story, but would definitely look for it!

[Betty Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My child really enjoyed this one.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to high school juniors in 2008.