why do you like to read shakespeare books?
they are exciting and strange. sometimes they’re dramatic, sometimes they’re not, they’re all quite different from each other and don’t carry over from one story to the next. you really don’t know what to expect. I like how all of these books tell the shakespeare stories, including the pictures that tell you what’s going on.
You are reading: Shakespeare books for kids
If you were recommending shakespeare to a friend, which book would you tell him to read first?
I would probably tell them to read shakespeare’s usborne illustrated stories. it’s pretty straightforward and not confusing and probably the easiest book on my list to understand. the images are very vivid and it is very easy to tell what is going on. what i really like is how it’s written in normal english, but it also has the lines that shakespeare wrote, in old english, with a line that leads to a picture of the person saying it.
For example, Viola on Twelfth Night says: “oh you must untangle this, not me, it’s too hard a knot for me to untie” above a picture of her dressed as a boy.
In addition to Twelfth Night, the other stories in the book are Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet. there’s also a section on “the life and times of william shakespeare”, although I haven’t read it (I’m only interested in the stories).
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let’s talk about the series, the shakespeare stories, next. why are they nice to read?
I like this series because although they always have the same stories as in the other books, and the dilemma and ending is always the same, they are told a little differently. There are lots and lots of books in this series: Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and King Lear and 13 other works, so it can last a long time. I didn’t even know that shakespeare had written about antony and cleopatra, so finding more stories by him was an unexpected surprise.
I really enjoy the books in this series and the way they are structured. the illustrations are by tony ross, who also illustrates the david walliams books and they are quite funny (depending on the work, of course). They help you understand exactly what the work is about.
next is to wee or not to wee by pamela butchart, which I think is one of your favorite books, right?
yes, this is a comic version of not one shakespeare play, but about four. first set the scene by saying: ‘izzy and his friends are playing a game’. one of them can’t decide what to do, and then izzy tells his friend that he’s being like hamlet. and he says no, and she says, “i bet you don’t even know what hamlet is”, and that’s how the story begins.
I have read this book many, many times and I keep rereading it. you can choose which of the works you want to read about, and it’s quite nice to choose which one, depending on how you feel.
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I also love the drawings they make in this book, they are so much fun.
then you have chosen the usborne version of macbeth. this is included in the collection you mentioned at the beginning, but wanted to recommend it specifically because you love this work. when you were younger you thought her name was macdeath, which seems correct. why do you like history?
I like the story because it’s bloody, weird, different and exciting! I find Macbeth’s wife quite power hungry. i felt if lady macbeth hadn’t been married to him, i don’t think she would have killed the king and had all those bloodcurdling nightmares. I like his friend banquo de him, because he seems nice and it makes me sad when they kill him because he was probably a good person, although I’m not sure. I really like witches and they have a big influence on the story because, again, if he hadn’t been given the idea to kill the king, I don’t think he would have done it.
lastly, the usborne version of twelfth night, which is in the collection again but you wanted to highlight because this is actually your favorite shakespeare book.
It’s amazing. I like how confusing and strange it is. It kind of reminds me of a midsummer night’s dream because everyone is a little confused, but I like it better because it has a shipwreck, and viola and sebastian are brother and sister. on the twelfth night you care more about all the characters because you get to know them. i like the way three people play pranks on malvolio to make him think olivia loves him, because he’s mean.
I really recommend everyone to read shakespeare because it’s so much fun!
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