Beowulf and the Monster

by Brian Patten

"Beowulf and the Monster" is one of the "Every Story" series. Britain's finest authors and illustrators have been asked to take traditional stories - fairy stories, folk tales, myths and legends - and revive and refresh them for today's children.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Hâf]

A little gory in parts but an interesting novella. Perfect for teens who appreciate pictures alongside the story.

[Kirsty Cabot]

The story of Beowulf and Grendal told for children. It's pretty graphic in places, so not for really young ones in my opinion. Though I've loved this story since I was young.

I picked this book up purely because it was illustrated by Chris Riddell - I love his illustrations. It's a really lovely edition, smaller than a standard paperback, interesting colour choices too, with easy to read well spaced font.

[Mathew]

Brian Patten has always been a fine wordsmith and although we might associate him more with poetry than prose, I do think work like The Story Giant and this retelling of Beowulf show that he also has a real talent for traditional tales.

Presented in Barrington Stoke's beautiful cream-coloured pages and dyslexia-friendly font, Patten focuses the story on Grendel and his mother alone rather than the whole saga. This read differently to the original version I owned of Patten's and I wondered whether the publisher looked for edits to make it slightly more accessible.

Children will love Riddell's illustrations but I am afraid I will always prefer Charles Keeping's. Nevertheless, a wonderful way into the story itself and with language that is accessible for any reader who is newly independent.

[Sofia]

3.5 ⭐️

[Kajoch Kajoch]

I read this while researching for King Monster. Grendel's depiction is derivative, and the three riddle stones - while interesting - add little mechanically or thematically to the original narrative. Additionally, it concludes 2/3 through the story, furthering the erasure of the dragon that has became popular since Tolkien. It also ends anti-climactically, and Hrothgar is boring. There is no Unferth showdown, and many characters are removed to simplify the structure for children. That's good, as it rapidly conveys many of the story-beats during the Grendel and Hag segments, but removes so much in the process while adding tropes I feel needn't be there.

Sorry if this didn't make much sense, I'm just writing my thoughts rapidly.

[Rachel]

This novella is a new addition to my school library's new Quick Reads section. I've recently become quite interested in Barrington-Stoke (dyslexia-friendly publisher) and "hi-lo" (high interest, low readability) books, since the stories, such as in this case, can be very suspenseful and don't hold back on details that would be considered too advanced or scary for primary school readers.

Chris Riddell's illustrations are a 5/5; Brian Patten's writing is simple, yet still used sentence-length variation and description to maintain a suspenseful and entertaining story. This book took me about 20-30 minutes to read and I'm glad I read it. I'll be recommending this book, and others from the same publisher, to reluctant readers.

[Kristen]

I wanted to read this to see what the Everyone Can Be a Reader titles were like--I'm interested in having more high/low books to recommend to kids in the library. And this is a good example of something to offer. It's quite gory and there are fights against two monsters and plenty of action despite being very short. I will definitely recommend this one to kids who like adventure stories and don't mind peoples' limbs being torn off like flower petals.

[Mrs G]

A simple retelling of Beowulf. Would be excellent for older children who find more complicated texts inaccessible. Gory with great pictures.

[Emily]

Modern retelling, I was worried but it's good! Nice straight story telling without working too hard.

[Nate]

Pretty good re-telling of the poem. Removes much of the Christian elements, sadly.

[Samuel Mark]

A great quick easy read which I look forward to using in class next term!

[Aleah]

I liked it I think I'm just older than the intended audience.

[Rachel]

I've heard of Beowulf, but I've never had it in me to actually read Beowulf. Enter Monster Slayer, a middle grade interpretation of the classic. Fantastic adaptation and easy to understand.

[Jenn]

Fantastic middle grade prose retelling with the added bonus of Chris Riddell as the illustrator.

[Pippa Wilson]

So what did I think?

I'm a huge fan of the Barrington Stoke "Little Gems" series: the books are SO well designed with a nice-fit-in-your-hand size, thick cream paper, clear font, perfect text to image ratio...ah, I could go on... So I'm always checking out their latest stories.When I spotted this one with the killer combo of Brian Patten and Chris Riddell, I just knew it would be a delight!

The striking front cover shows Chris Riddell's Grendel in a shiny metallic silver with the title gleaming out in metallic green.The green/red/black theme continues throughout the text in the coloured illustrations so that the book oozes a classic quality.

The blurb reads:

One dark night, the music and singing woke a monster from a swamp...

It's the story of Grendel waking from a hundred year sleep and hearing the festivities of the King's feast.

"Grendel hated music. He hated it because he hated the humans that made it. He hated it with a hatred that burned bright as a star. He hated it as only a demon can hate. It reminded him of what an outcast he was.."
The story tells the tale of the battle between Grendel and Beowulf, and is indeed pretty gory (steer clear ye faint-hearted), and has plenty of action to entertain 8-12 year olds. Brian Patten tells the story in a very powerful and gripping way, which young readers will be in awe of. He evokes such emotion, for example, when Grendel's mother, the Hag, appears.

Reading the story is an absolute joy, and Brian's Patten's prose is pure poetry. The tale unfolds quickly and paints a vivid picture (reminding me of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes). It's so rare to find story telling of this quality, that this really is one to treasure. An absolute must for action-thirsty readers (and school libraries)!

Happy reading!

Pippa Wilson
hellopipski.wordpress.com
@hellopipski

13th March 2016

[Lynda]

This is a gorgeous little jewel of a book. 'Monster Slayer' is the evocatively-told tale of Beowulf and Grendel. The carefully-chosen language is easy to read, yet rich in metaphor, imagery and tone. The telling of this ancient story unfolds clearly, so that younger readers are not bogged down in overwhelming detail. The layout, detailed illustrations, and use of a few well-chosen, bright colours make the book glow in your hand, as you tantalizingly turn the pages. This is a Barrington-Stoke book, especially designed to be accessible to young people. I think children and teenagers, and readers of any age, will love it.