Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! [Hardcover]

Marcia Williams (Adapter, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Presents the stories of seven Shakespeare plays by including actual dialogue in the illustrations, summarizing the plots in picture captions, and showing the comments and actions of audience members on the sides and bottom of the pages.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-In this appealing follow-up to Tales from Shakespeare (Candlewick, 1998), Williams presents entertaining and accessible retellings of seven more of the Bard's works. Included here are four comedies (As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado About Nothing) and three tragedies (Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III, and King Lear). Each plot is summarized in four to six pages. Comic-book styled cartoon panels, done in pen and watercolor, move the action along. As the actors in the illustrations speak their lines, captions below explain the story in plain English. Meanwhile, stagehands and audience members shown in the border of each spread offer insights and comic relief. "They're mummies, you dummies!" explains a member of the crowd, as Antony and Cleopatra are buried together in a tomb. "Cantankerous harpies!" opines a King Lear attendee, of Cordelia's sisters. The figures in the artwork are not overly attractive. Many of the men are skinny, balding, and sniveling. Heroines are stout and homely, but their strengths still shine through. In this refreshing approach, all looks are equal and the characters can be judged by their deeds and personalities. Shakespeare is a challenge for most folks and this book provides an approachable introduction to his wordy magic. Libraries that own the first volume will definitely want to pair it up with this new one.
Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Employing the same oversize comic-strip format she used for her delightful Tales from Shakespeare (1998), Williams introduces seven more of the Bard's plays--among them, Twelfth Night and King Lear. A contents page disguised as a playbill explains that the characters' words are Shakespeare's and that plot summaries appear beneath the cartoons. The pages are bordered by pictures of rowdy spectators, whose commentary ranges from humorously personal to illuminating observations on the plays. The spreads are jam-packed with intricately detailed, colorful art that invites scrutiny and also conveys the appropriate mood: somber black-and-white with color highlights for Richard the Third, but a much brighter palette for As You Like It. Williams' narrative is simple, the plots are well abstracted, and despite the busy pictures, the text, black set against blocks of white, is easy to distinguish and read. An enjoyable, accessible vehicle to help children experience and appreciate Shakespeare, reflecting both the times and the timeless appeal of the Bard's creative plots and diverse characters. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076361209X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763612092
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,803,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marcia Williams is famous for her retellings of classic stories. From Shakespeare and Dickens to the Canterbury Tales and Greek Myths, her humorous comic-strip illustration is hugely popular all over the globe. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!, September 16, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! (Hardcover)

As the table of contents, disguised as a playbill, informs the reader, "The Globe Theatre is proud to present a new season of Mr. William Shakespeare's plays." So come one, come all and take your seats as author, Marcia Williams, presents seven famous plays, As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III, Twelfth Night, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing, in comic book format. Each "performance" is broken down into three parts: Shakespeare's actual words, spoken by the actors on stage, the plot of the story told in crisp, clear and uncomplicated text beneath the pictures and the often amusing and sometimes important remarks made by the audience as they watch. The illustrations of each play are colorful, easy to follow and packed with marvelous detail that catches the readers' eye and propels the story forward. Bravo, Mr William Shakespeare is a wonderful and enjoyable introduction to the Bard's plays that takes you back to their original setting at the Globe, in the mid-1500s and is an evocative experience that's sure to whet the appetite of young readers. "The audience is asked to refrain from throwing hard objects at the performers. Rotten fruit only, please. Beware of pickpockets!" Read, learn and enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different title, SAME book--watch out!, December 28, 2008

By 

Cleanin' Mommy (East coast, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! (Paperback)

This is a great book, but it is EXACTLY the same book as another of Marcia William's titles, "More Tales From Shakespeare." We had all three of her Shakespeare titles on my daughter's wishlist, and she got all three as gifts; the two books are identical, except for the title! There is NO mention of this anywhere I could see (well, I admit I didn't read the publisher's or amazon's details, so I could be wrong)--so we'll be returning the duplicate! Great book though. We have several of Marcia Williams' books. I love that they familiarize kids with stories, plays, myths, etc (that we hope they'll read in full later in life) in a fun "comic book" format, but use actual quotes from the originals in the cartoon frames. Fun to read, and it's giving my daughter an appetite for good literature!

5.0 out of 5 stars Young children loved it., December 5, 2008

By 

Wilma White (Vista, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! (Paperback)

Would you believe I recently shared "As You Like It" with my second and third grade second language learners and it was a huge success. They were enthused about the plot and the characters from the first reading, they never got bored. I guess it says something about Shakespeare's writing.

We ended up doing a little rewriting and turned it into a reader's theater, I don't think Shakespeare would be too upset with our adaptation.
We're presenting it with a cast of sixteen next week, hope "we break a leg."
It's amazing to here the children talk about Rosalind and "Ganymeade', as well as the evil duke and the happenings in the Forest of Arden.Lets see if this stays tucked away in their young memories when they have to study the bard in high school and college.