Tales from Shakespeare (Paperback)

~ Marcia Williams (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-6-The success of Williams's Greek Myths for Young Children (Candlewick, 1992) is no surprise to those whose first exposure to the classics through "Classic Comics" led to a comfortable and even enthusiastic view of literature. The lively cartoon format never overwhelms the clear progress of the stories. While the technique used in her latest book may boggle the mind of a struggling adult, it should be child's play to average elementary-school readers. Each of the seven selections, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest, is told as if it were on a stage, with cartoon panels carrying the actions and direct quotations from the play. The author's narration appears below the panels. An audience surrounds this presentation on three sides of each page. Not only are the stories complex and multilayered, but the byplay in the audience also further complicates these busy pages. As Hamlet struggles with his decision, orange sellers work a crowd that comments irreverently on the play. Queen Elizabeth I and Will himself appear at more than one production. Macbeth, which has a relatively simple story line, is told in larger panels and is not as hard to follow. The Winter's Tale is also not badly served by this treatment, although it's disappointing to find the most cartoonish stage direction in all of Shakespeare, "Exit, pursued by a bear," omitted. While it's hard to imagine anyone except maybe Robin Williams taking this on as a read-aloud, the kids who pore over detail in "Waldo" or Graeme Base's Animalia (Abrams, 1993) may graduate to enjoying an introduction to the plays in this format.
Sally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Williams uses the oversize, comic strip format of her King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1996) and other picture books to evoke a sense of what it must have been like to attend performances of seven plays at the old Globe Theatre. As the actors stand in running panels atop prose plot summaries, declaiming well-chosen lines from the plays, in the borders men, women, and children of all ages (including, for sharp-eyed viewers, Queen Elizabeth and the Bard himself) watch, laugh, weep, shout smart comments, and fool around. Although watery gray backgrounds give Macbeth and parts of Hamlet a gloomy cast, the mood in general is boisterous: Juliet sprawls fetchingly on her balcony rail; donkey-headed Bottom curls a bespelled Titania's toes; one viewer bids a rowdy youth, "Buzz off," and another, seeing Macbeth waving a pair of gory daggers, opines, "I don't think this is quite suitable for children." On the contrary, although the names and plot twists may sometimes come too fast for some readers to keep straight, this offers an inviting taste of the Shakespearean buffet, as well as a rare glimpse into the character of Elizabethan theater. John Peters --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763623237
• ISBN-13: 978-0763623234
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #312,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introduce your child to Shakespeare!, January 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales from Shakespeare (Hardcover)

My eight-year old daughter and I delighted in reading these seven plays together! Marcia Williams has created a colorful, imaginative, fun way to present these wonderful plays so that the young reader gains an appreciation for Shakespeare's works and an insight into the historical period in which he presented them on stage. Each page contains whimsical illustrations, in strip style, wherein the characters speak lines from the plays, as well as a clearly written storyline. My daughter expecially chuckled over the humorous but often droll comments of scampering Globe audience memberas, framing the text of every page. You'll find Will himself is there, too! The events of the plays are not suger coated, though, so the tragedies do rack up a body count and the reader encounters the famous scenes of poisonings and revenge sought by the sword.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, April 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales from Shakespeare (Hardcover)

I thought this was a great book. I love anything by Marcia Williams. The illustrations are great and there are hillarious comments from the audience throughout the book. This is a great book for kids to enjoy and they also get the basic story line of seven of Shakespeare's most poupular plays. But most of all this book is just fun.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High/mixed, March 10, 2007

By	Clare Lynd-porter "Imagine" (Jacksonville, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The pages are very, very busy. Perhaps too distracting for children. But they are beautifully illustrated and retain the original feel for the language. Best for 4th-6th grades.