Friday, June 12, 2009

Bravo Mr. William Shakespeare! by Marcia Williams


Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! by Marcia Williams
The Girl is named after one of Shakespeare's characters. As a consequence, she is obsessed with Shakespeare. The sweet pea actually dragged the Riverside Shakespeare off the shelf a month ago and tried to read Romeo and Juliet. This book is a much better starter. We were so excited when we spotted it. The plays are told in a comic strip format, with no more than 8 pages given to each play. The main action of each scene is told in simple language beneath a corresponding panel. The characters speech bubbles spout actual text (in short snippets) from the selected play. All around the border of the ongoing comic are little characters (audience members) making comments. The plays are very well summarized and easy to follow. Our only disappointment was with the plays selected: Richard III? Really? I was thrilled to learn that this was Williams' second book of Shakespeare's plays and that Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest are included in the first collection.
Target ages: 10-13 years

Connections:
Tales from Shakespeare, by Marcia Williams
William Shakespeare and the Globe, by Aliki

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