Customer Reviews

Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Our family has recently discovered the wonderful Peter Vennema/Diane Stanley biographies. They are vivid, engaging, and thorough, yet short enough for younger readers to sit through (my daughters are 4 and 6). Bard of Avon and Good Queen Bess are our favorites so far, and they go very well together since neither Shakespeare nor Queen Elizabeth would have been the same without the other. Unlike other histories or biographies for children, this book makes a destinction between what we know about Shakespeare's life and times and what are only guesses. It is nice for children to see that the study of history is not just memorizing facts and dates, but piecing together clues in the context of what is known about a time period. As a former high school English teacher, I wish that I had had this book when I was teaching Shakespeare plays because it would have been a wonderful introduction.

This author was new to us and we will be looking for her from now on. The pictures are sooo wonderful they transport you. The information is well done and clear, yet not watered done. This is someone that REALLY understands writing books for children that adults can enjoy using as teachers or parents. I recently bought alot of books on Shakespeare, for use in the school room this year and we have found 4 authors that made the grade on this subject! This is a keeper!

Stanley is a masterful writer/illustrator when it comes to creating longer picturebook biographies (with heavier text). Her bios on da Vinci, Cleopatra and Shakespeare are fabulous. It amazes me that she has not won a Caldecott Honor yet! I can't wait to see her bio about Michelangelo!

I feel like I could start any review for a Diane Stanley biography like this: ________ is the perfect introduction for any child interested in learning about ___________! That said...

Bard of Avon is an excellent introduction to the biography of William Shakespeare. It gives you basic facts without getting too involved in theory. My favorite new fact is a list of words Shakespeare invented by writing them into his plays. In addition to "eyeball," which I already knew, he also made up: majestic, countless, hint, hurry, reliance, leapfrog, gust, excellent, and gloomy. Awesome! Diane Stanley hits it out of the park every time, truly. I'm a huge fan.

Stanley does a masterful job of bringing Shakespeare to life in this short biography. Full of wit, the workings of the theater and a few of the details behind some of Shakespeare's more popular works, older children will greatly enjoy this book. A must-have for homeschoolers beginning a study of the Bard of Avon!

I read this book to students age five through fourteen. They enjoyed learning about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan period. This booklet is clearly written and well-illustrated.

Great educational book, not made to be as "exciting" as I thought it could have been.

Diane Stanley's picture book biographies are wonderful! I can think of a number of titles I have seen so often on homeschool families' shelves: Joan of Ark, Michelangelo, Peter the Great, Saladin, Charles Dickens, and more! She has a very unique and captivating way to write--and illustrate--these great historical figures' biographies!

The Bard of Avon follows all that is known about William Shakespeare, his personal and professional life, the Globe Theater and the world he lived in. Many of his plays are discussed in the book as well. As with her other biographies, Stanley's language is both kind and respectful. It is also honest-- what is not known about a historical character is stated as such on the pages.

This is a very good first look at the Bard's life . I just asked my 8th grader, whose next reading assignment is Romeo and Juliet , to read it: she could not put it down!