I think this book would be best suited for 5th/6th graders and up. The picturebook is a marvel of fantasy storytelling and illustration. Accompanied by his nephew Wiglaf, they engage and kill the dragon, (SPOILERS!) but Beowulf also dies, succumbing to his wounds. Finally, after becoming a king himself, Beowulf hunts down a dragon that has stolen riches from Beowulf’s burial mound. Upon slaying Grendel, Beowulf then seeks out and destroys Grendel's fearsome mother. It follows the adventures of Beowulf as he first helps King Heorot to defeat Grendel, a monster that has been terrorizing Heorot’s kingdom. It is surprisingly faithful to the source material, although retold in modern English so it can be understood by younger readers. I love the original text and wanted to see how the adaptation fared. While I was at the library looking for sci-fi and fantasy titles, I saw this picturebook adaptation of Beowulf on the shelf.
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