The Coming of the Dragon

Gr 5—8—Sixteen years earlier as a baby, Rune washed ashore in a boat. A sword and a pendant lay at his side. Some feared that he had been set adrift as a sacrifice to the gods and must die. Instead of raising his sword against the child, King Beowulf handed him over to the town's wise woman, Amma. Now the boy works the fields in the summer and comes into the kingdom to train with weapons in the winter. Some of the townspeople feel Rune is cursed and shun him. Rune lives a seemingly meaningless life, not knowing who he is or what fate awaits him. When a fierce dragon is awakened, a reign of terror begins in the kingdom. Rune discovers his own destiny in his quest to avenge the dragon's heinous deeds. Rebecca Barnhouse's eloquent coming-of-age story (Random, 2010) is a retelling of the final section of Beowulf, the Old English poem. Narrator Robin Sachs's soothing narration helps build the story in the listener's mind.—Robyn Gioia, Bolles School, Ponte Vedra, FL