Beowuff & the Horrid Hen

... and if you believe that is the author's real name, you'll believe anything! Beowuff is a disgrace to his illustrious ancestors - he is all bark and no bite! Banished from his home, can he redeem himself by saving the King's Great Feasting Kennel from... a chicken? The first in a new series for readers of 7+ - although young readers would appreciate some illustrations, so I would recommend this for slightly older readers. It would be great fun to read aloud and share with a class. Parents in Touch It was surely only a matter of time before the creator of the witty and popular Spartapuss series of adventures, set in a feline-focused version of ancient Rome, found another historical direction to explore with his tireless punnery and scholarly attention to detail. Beowuff is a hilarious reimagining of one of the earliest recorded poems in Old English, combining shamelessly silly wordplay (for example, our furry and fallible hero must defeat Hendel, an evil, giant chicken) with authentically Anglo-Saxon literary language and conceits. Teach Primary I read the book Beowuff... It is set in the past at the time of the Vikings, and based on the real saga of the brave hero Beowulf. This book is about a Viking dog called Beowuff. The story starts with Beowuff telling tales of his adventures. He pretends to be a great hero, but really he is a big coward and a good liar, who can talk his way out of trouble! My favourite part was when Beowuff tricked King Ruffgar into giving him gold, meat and meat-mead for bait to catch and kill Hendel the Hen (the evil chicken who had been attacking the King's people). But really Beowuff was planning to run away with the gold and feast upon the food himself. I think it is a fantastic book for young people who want to enjoy a funny historical story. I would give it 9 / 10. -- Emily (aged 9) Young Archaeologists Club