Monster Slayer: A Beowulf Tale

Daughter had this book read at school. So she asked me for it. She really likes the story. Book came fast and was well wrapped.

Used this with a 3/4 class. Fantastic boom, easiily accessible to the children. Highly recommended.

An excellent book with carefully chosen words that draw you into a great story,enhancef by the atmospheric drawings.

Brian Patten and Chris Riddell bring the mythical tale of Beowulf back to life in ‘Monster Slayer’ a  thrilling new book in the Little Gems series from Barrington Stoke. This book is a thing of beauty and I will immediately captivate the reader. The shiny foiled Grendel on the cover contrasting against a stark black background hints at the darkness that lies inside. With stunning endpapers featuring the silhouette of Beowulf and the neon interiors highlighting Chris Riddell’s striking illustrations it is a visual delight.When you open the pages you are drawn into this terrible tale of good versus evil. The monster Grendel has been awoken from his centuries old sleep by the celebrations of the townsfolk. Enraged by their happiness he wreaks misery upon them, forcing them out of their homes into the shadows of the forest  living like wild animals with a constant fear of death surrounding them. Fierce warriors come and go with magic weapons but nobody is able to defeat the monster, all who oppose Grendel are crushed and their bones line his nest. Years go by but one day a mysterious boat sails over the horizon and Beowulf arrives to face the monster. Can Beowulf do what no warrior has been able to do before him and overcome the terrible Grendel?‘Monster Slayer’ is beautifully written with rich, descriptive language conjuring up Grendell’s world of putridness and decay. As he leaves his lair and goes forth to destroy the people’s joy. “even the shadows recoiled from Grendel as he flowed through the night like poison spilt from a cup.” The vividness of the words stirs up a feeling of dread and tension in the reader and the haunting song of the monster which repeats throughout the book adds to the sense of despair. If you are looking for a book to inspire young writers then this would be a perfect start the words wrap themselves around you and you get lost in the centuries old story. Chris Riddell’s illustrations provide a dramatic accompaniment to Brian’s words capturing the terror of Grendel’s reign and the courage of the hero Beowulf in facing this deadly demon. Brilliantly dark, filled with monsters, heroes and the constant threat of  danger this story will prove to be irresistible to the reader.

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 Wilsonhellopipski.wordpress.com@hellopipski13th March 2016

Not that good

As with all books involving Chris Riddell this is another good one.