- Hardcover: 80 pages
- Publisher: Orchard Books; New edition (Oct 12 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0750249633
- ISBN-13: 978-0750249638
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-These retellings of four of Shakespeare's best-known and perhaps best-loved plays are an attempt to provide students with prose adaptations of Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, and The Tempest. The stories are reasonably well told-certainly better than those of "The Shakespeare Collection" series (Oxford, 2002). The language will be more familiar to modern readers than Charles and Mary Lamb's classic Tales from Shakespeare (Signet, 1986) or Marchette Chute's Stories from Shakespeare (New American Library, 1959), and the plots are generally easy to follow. However, unlike Bruce Coville's picture-book series (Dial), in quoting the character's speeches, Birch frequently changes the words of the originals. For instance, Hamlet's famous line "To die, to sleep, perchance to dream- Aye there's the rub" becomes "perhaps to dream- Aye there's the obstacle." Clear? Without question, but the author's brilliant poetry is totally lost. A bigger problem with the book, however, is the artwork. Lambert's watercolors are amateurish and repetitive, and some of them are distracting, even laughable. For example, in Hamlet, when Gertrude drops the poison cup, she looks as if she's sticking her tongue out at the troubled prince, and her orange hair and blue fingernails make her look more like a painted woman than a reigning queen. This version does not do justice either to Shakespeare's characters or to his poetic genius. Use Coville's adaptations to introduce the stories, and then treat students to the Bard's original plays.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. A gift book but also a useful library purchase, this large-sized volume retells four of Shakespeare's popular plays: Hamlet, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest. Birch's detailed, scene-by-scene narrative goes beyond study guides and plot summaries to stay true to the drama and the characters' complexity and evoke some of the richness and cadence of Shakespeare's language ("He pulled the cloak of his madness round him and stared through its mask at her. 'Are you honest?' he demanded"). The clear design is inviting, and Lambert's occasional stylized, color illustrations are both theatrical and realistic. Hamlet and Ophelia actually look like contemporary teens. Of course, scholars debating esoteric points, such as the moment Hamlet's mother was unfaithful or whether Hamlet was truly mad, won't agree with all the interpretative details. But reading these noncondescending narratives will be a lively preparation for seeing Shakespeare on stage. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brings the Shakespeare concepts to life,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Shakespeares Tales C (Hardcover)
It's hard to peg the age range for this retelling of Shakespearean drama: Stephen Lambert's color drawings break up the text and Birch's modern retellings makes it accessible for a younger audience than the traditional stories would; but much print makes it an unlikely picturebook choice. Parents will want to consider Shakespeare's Tales for read-aloud to kids beyond the picturebook age: Shakespeare's Tales brings the Shakespeare concepts to life with modern tellings and accessible plots.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brings the Shakespeare concepts to life,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Shakespeares Tales C (Hardcover)
It's hard to peg the age range for this retelling of Shakespearean drama: Stephen Lambert's color drawings break up the text and Birch's modern retellings makes it accessible for a younger audience than the traditional stories would; but much print makes it an unlikely picturebook choice. Parents will want to consider Shakespeare's Tales for read-aloud to kids beyond the picturebook age: Shakespeare's Tales brings the Shakespeare concepts to life with modern tellings and accessible plots.
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