The epic stories from around the world form much of our cultural and literary backdrop. It might be said that most of what we produce today are elaborations, refinements, or dull reflections of what has already been captured in these ancient and long ago stories.
A couple of points need to be made. More than is usually the case, these stories lend themselves to being read aloud. Take that into account as to when to introduce them to your child. My youngest son is a real adventure and action story kind of guy and I read Seamus Heaney's Beowolf to him when he was seven or eight, even though it is more of a Young Adult book. He loved it.
The other thing to be cautious about is that in their original forms, these stories often have quite graphic accounts of warfare, personal battle and sex (Gilgamesh in particular). Some renditions omit these scenes or tone them down, others include them. You probably want to read through the story first to determine if there is any material you might want to modify/omit if you are doing the reading to your child. Rather like a boatman coming up short upon an unexpected bank in the river, I have a couple of times found myself having to do simultaneous editing of a text as I was reading it having unexpectedly encountered some material I thought not to be appropriate.
Finally, these stories have lasted down through the centuries in part because they are so primal. They deal with honor, duty, courage, betrayal, death, and loss. They deal with them forthrightly and in a fashion not always in concordance with the softer, gentler, cushier story-telling to which our children have often become accustomed. Again, read them first to determine whether your child is ready for these wonderful but starker tales and/or whether you need to prep them a little in advance for what they are about to hear. These are great stories but not everyone is necessarily always prepared to hear them in their primal glory.
This book list is divided into three sections:
(1) Picture Books
(2) Books for Independent Readers
(3) Books for Young Adults
The list begins below with Picture Books, but you can use one of the following links to skip directly to either of the other two sections.
Go to books for Independent Readers
Go to books for Young Adults
Picture Books
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Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Foreman Recommended
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Independent Reader
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Beowulf by Welwyn Wilton Katz and illustrated by Laszlo Gal Recommended
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The Hero Beowulf by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher Suggested
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El Cid by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by A. Montaner
Suggested
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Beowulf by Nicky Raven and illustrated by John Howe Suggested
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Beowulf by Ian Serraillier Highly Recommended
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Young Adult
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Beowolf by Michael Alexander Suggested
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Beowulf by Seamus Henney Highly Recommended
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Grendel by John Gardner Recommended
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The Odyssey by Alaexander Pope
The Iliad by Alexander Pope