I selected several books on the theme of greek mythology and Heros.
The Hero Beowulf by Eric A Kimmel was a nice shorter version of just the most famous fight with Grendel. For middle school, this would be a great introduction to this kind of literature. I remember reading Beowulf, probably in college, and it was a pretty thick read (especially since it is not my preferred genre). This age group would be attracted to the fight and challenge themes - and perhaps spur some readers on to the real thing!
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight as told by Michael Morpurgo is a longer picture book that tells this famous tale. It is really well done and engaging with very nice illustrations. There are a lot of references to religion in this book which makes it appealing for my parochial school. The themes of honor and loyalty and keeping your word despite struggle and temptation would make for great discussion. I really enjoyed this book
The Adventures of Odysseus by Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden, and Christina Balit ( A Barefoot Book)
Like the first book I talked of in this post, this is a shortened and simpler version of great literature. The illustrations are beautiful and stories well told. I'm still in progress on this one. All three of my kids (11, 9, 5) enjoy this book, so it appeals to a wide age range.
CIVIL RIGHTS MINI-UNIT
15 years ago
I did some internet browsing and I discovered that Michael Morpurgo also wrote 'Beowulf.'
ReplyDeleteI am trying to find a right choice of picture book about Beowulf for high school adolescents. My goal is to provide all students some access to literary selections. One student read an illustrated picture book, "Scarlet Letter" by Hawthorne, and she still talked about it. Similarly with "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare, many students still remembered these characters and I realized their need for picture books so they can appreciate literature as much as other proficient readers would.
-RJ