Ada Wienersmith is, perhaps, the only 9-year-old in Virginia who can recite poetry in old English.
(She reads the first line of Beowulf in old English.)
That’s the first line from an epic poem called Beowulf, and it was the basis for a story her dad Zach used to tell her as they drove to school each day. It’s the tale of a brave warrior who does battle with three monsters, but the author made some changes in a nod to his 21st century readers.
“You know in the original story a lot of what goes on is the monster running around killing people, which is not great for a kids’ story.," the author explains. "I made it so the monster is this horribly suburban man who’s trying to make children into the worst sort of adults who only care about banking percentages and mortgage rates and that sort of thing.”
And because this was a story for his daughter, the protagonist is a young girl named Bea Wolf.
“She is strong and brave," Ada says. "She’s also sneaky!”
The book is illustrated by the famed French cartoonist Boulet, and to Zach Wienersmith’s surprise, it’s sold well and won rave reviews. Now he’s thinking about a sequel and maybe even a movie.
