A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories: 12 Tales from the world's most famous playwright
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- Create Date：2021-04-10 11:56:25
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Angela McAllister
- ISBN：1786031159
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Summary
Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare， re told to be accessible for children。
Get lost in Shakespeare’s most loved stories with this beautiful anthology of some of the most popular stories in the world。 Introduce the children in your life to a collection of the most important stories every written， collected and retold by the much-loved author Angela McAllister。 Featuring classics such as The Tempest， A Midsummer Night’s Dream， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet and Othello， each story is rewritten in a comprehensive way that is accessible for children。 This perfectly sized anthology is stunningly illustrated by collage artist Alice Lindstrom whose incredible artwork makes these stories dance to life before your very eyes。
This lavish follow-up to A Year Full of Stories and A World Full of Animal Stories is the perfect gift for book lovers young and old。
Get lost in Shakespeare’s most loved stories with this beautiful anthology of some of the most popular stories in the world。 Introduce the children in your life to a collection of the most important stories every written， collected and retold by the much-loved author Angela McAllister。 Featuring classics such as The Tempest， A Midsummer Night’s Dream， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet and Othello， each story is rewritten in a comprehensive way that is accessible for children。 This perfectly sized anthology is stunningly illustrated by collage artist Alice Lindstrom whose incredible artwork makes these stories dance to life before your very eyes。
This lavish follow-up to A Year Full of Stories and A World Full of Animal Stories is the perfect gift for book lovers young and old。
Reviews
Tanvirul Islam
，
Beautifully Illustrated gem of a book， that can help you proclaim - as I do now - to be a Shakespearean scholar in no time！
Wayne McCoy
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'A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories' by Angela McAllister with illustrations by Alice Lindstrom is a book full of stories adapted from the plays of William Shakespeare。The 12 adapted plays are comedy and tragedy。 They span the best known of Shakespeare's plays。 Each story opens with a quote from the play and a cast of the characters the reader will come across。 The stories run about 7 pages with illustrations and are really nice adaptations。I enjoyed these abridged versions of the plays and the 'A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories' by Angela McAllister with illustrations by Alice Lindstrom is a book full of stories adapted from the plays of William Shakespeare。The 12 adapted plays are comedy and tragedy。 They span the best known of Shakespeare's plays。 Each story opens with a quote from the play and a cast of the characters the reader will come across。 The stories run about 7 pages with illustrations and are really nice adaptations。I enjoyed these abridged versions of the plays and the really nice illustrations that accompany them。 These stories don't shy from the darker elements of the plays， so keep that in mind for young readers。 Then again， I would have loved those darker elements， and still do。I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Childrens， and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook。 。。。more
Traci
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great synopsis of Shakespearre's works。 perfect for those looking to share with children or just get a personal refresher on what the plays were all about great synopsis of Shakespearre's works。 perfect for those looking to share with children or just get a personal refresher on what the plays were all about 。。。more
Eloise Vanbrabant
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A fun book simplifying 12 of Shakespeare’s plays to easily-understandable modern English。
Julie
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I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 I liked the illustrations in this book。 I thought they were very charming。 I just don't see most kids enjoying a book like this。 Maybe it would come in handy for homeschooling， but I don't see kids seeking out the book on their own。 I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 I liked the illustrations in this book。 I thought they were very charming。 I just don't see most kids enjoying a book like this。 Maybe it would come in handy for homeschooling， but I don't see kids seeking out the book on their own。 。。。more
Clara Lee
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I thought we would work through these more slowly together， but Clara （age 8） picked it up and didn't put it down until the end。 And then she started re-reading them again， and then re-read her favorites again。 As You Like It is her current favorite！ I thought we would work through these more slowly together， but Clara （age 8） picked it up and didn't put it down until the end。 And then she started re-reading them again， and then re-read her favorites again。 As You Like It is her current favorite！ 。。。more
Janice
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Twelve Shakespearean plays have been cut up into short stories。 It allows the younger students to see the beauty of the story without becoming frustrated by the language。 Nice mix of the various types of Shakespearean plays。
Cheryl
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Even though this book is aimed at kids， it was quite a fun read。 It is hard to say something about the characters or the plot as it are multiple short stories， but it did feel oversimplified at times to me personally， but then again it is focused on kids。 However， I think there were some things that would be too hard for kids to grasp and are too gruesome。
Mel （Epic Reading）
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I'm really struggling to imagine an age group that could be defined as 'child' that would be appropriate for Shakespeare stories。 Let's face it， Shakespeare isn't just difficult to read in it's original format; but also the death， romance， betrayal， etc。 is fairly adult。 Maybe an advanced child of 10 or older would like this？ Maybe。 Illustrations & FormatThere is one lovely part of this book which is the cute illustrations and the over sized format of the pages。 However I do wish the layout was I'm really struggling to imagine an age group that could be defined as 'child' that would be appropriate for Shakespeare stories。 Let's face it， Shakespeare isn't just difficult to read in it's original format; but also the death， romance， betrayal， etc。 is fairly adult。 Maybe an advanced child of 10 or older would like this？ Maybe。 Illustrations & FormatThere is one lovely part of this book which is the cute illustrations and the over sized format of the pages。 However I do wish the layout was broken into a couple columns to make the text less daunting。 And the over sized format while fun （and in hardcover this book is heavy！） would be very awkward for most bookshelves。 This feels like one of those books meant for a coffee table to spark a conversation。 As a cocktail party piece it's perfect。 Too bad that's not really what we want books for （lol）。 StoriesI felt like each of the stories in the simplistic （and summarized） English wasn't well explained。 Reading Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet and MacBeth （to take a few of the really famous plays） I felt like if you didn't have context for some of the things happening （ie: know the play plot） then you might miss some key items。 Maybe I was skimming as I knew all but three plays in the book; but it just felt like the content was really stripped out。 As though the stories are more synopsis of what happens and less of a narrated story。 I think kids will struggle with this format as well。 It just doesn't draw the reader in。 OverallWhile in theory this is a brilliant idea for a republishing of Shakespeare in a simpler format; I don't think A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories really achieves what it should。 I expected the format and stories to draw me in and intrigue me （as they hopefully would for children）。 Instead I found the text daunting with it's full page width （on over sized pages this is just bad design， where are the columns！？） and while the illustrations are adorable they are just not enough。 Watching many of the modern movies or takes on these same Shakespeare plays is probably a better use of time to learn the stories outside the original text。 I give this three stars because I love the concept and idea behind it。 Plus the book itself has beautiful illustrations; but overall it was quite disappointing and not what I had hoped for。 To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic ReadingPlease note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley。 This is an honest and unbiased review。 。。。more
Rebekah Fraser
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Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare。Including favourites such as The Tempest， A Midsummer Night’s Dream， Romeo and Juliet and Othello， this book takes the best from the Bard and rewrites them to be accessible to children。The book is an artwork in itself。 Collage artist Alice Lindstrom’s illustrations are breath-taking。 Lindstrom’s paper collage is highly detailed， intricate and textured。 She uses traditional cut and paste techniques， pa Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare。Including favourites such as The Tempest， A Midsummer Night’s Dream， Romeo and Juliet and Othello， this book takes the best from the Bard and rewrites them to be accessible to children。The book is an artwork in itself。 Collage artist Alice Lindstrom’s illustrations are breath-taking。 Lindstrom’s paper collage is highly detailed， intricate and textured。 She uses traditional cut and paste techniques， painting and preparing the paper beforehand， then cutting and assembling it。 A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is her first children’s book and it is a stunning debut。Each story is thoughtfully rewritten to make it more accessible to younger readers。 While each has been simplified， the essence of the original story is very much intact。 The Bard’s more famous lines and quotes are honoured and remain。While marketed at children older than seven， it would be a more comfortable fit for those in the upper primary school level， purely because of the topics Shakespeare covers。 McAllister didn’t shy away from the tragedy plays， with Macbeth， King Lear and Hamlet all included。Each story takes on its own chapter， with a cast of characters headlining each， along with a single quote and title page。 A clean contents page and chapter indicators on each page will also help independent readers conquer Shakespeare solo。A page about Shakespeare himself offers more information and a full list of his plays is a nice touch。 McAllister also offers a one paragraph summary about each of the featured plays。 Each summary offers a bit of background or inspiration about the play。 With its hardcover， incredible illustrations and simple rewrites of some of the world’s most popular stories， A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories deserves the spotlight。 It would be a wonderful gift to readers of any age， becoming a well-loved treasury to be handed down the generations。 。。。more
KayKay
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I truly enjoyed "A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories。" Twelve plays， six comedies and six tragedies， are chosen in this collection among the many great works written by Shakespeare。 This book is an awesome way to introduce the legendary playwright to young readers。 Text are nicely written and the stories are adorned with beautiful artworks。 The author includes a brief biography of Shakespeare at the end of the book together with a list of completed works by him as well as short introductions to I truly enjoyed "A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories。" Twelve plays， six comedies and six tragedies， are chosen in this collection among the many great works written by Shakespeare。 This book is an awesome way to introduce the legendary playwright to young readers。 Text are nicely written and the stories are adorned with beautiful artworks。 The author includes a brief biography of Shakespeare at the end of the book together with a list of completed works by him as well as short introductions to the twelve plays chosen for the book。 While the stories themselves are more for retelling the famous tales， the themes of each play aren't obvious enough by simply reading the stories alone。 The brief introductions help to pinpoint the basic themes loud and clear which I really appreciate。 Overall， a wonderful book for children and parents to read together。 。。。more
J Aislynn d'Merricksson
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A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister breaks down twelve of the Bard's most well-known plays- from Macbeth to Much Ado About Nothing- into stories middle-grade readers can appreciate。 Distilling the essence and downplaying inherent violence， these tales are reimagined for a younger audience。 I think this is a perfect way to introduce these timeless tales at an earlier age。 My older cubs really enjoyed reading them， and the youngest enjoyed the artwork :） This would make a grea A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister breaks down twelve of the Bard's most well-known plays- from Macbeth to Much Ado About Nothing- into stories middle-grade readers can appreciate。 Distilling the essence and downplaying inherent violence， these tales are reimagined for a younger audience。 I think this is a perfect way to introduce these timeless tales at an earlier age。 My older cubs really enjoyed reading them， and the youngest enjoyed the artwork :） This would make a great classroom book， and the perfect addition to children's libraries。***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review。 。。。more
Carla Johnson-Hicks
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A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories， by Angela McAllister， is a colorfully illustrated retelling of Shakespeare's plays aimed at young readers。 Using contemporary prose， it offers a creative way to introduce children and tweens to Shakespeare's famous works。 The blurb about this book says it can be enjoyed by children 5 and up， but I am recommending this one for middle grades and up （10 to 14）。 It includes a variety of his plays， both comedies and tragedies。 Some are extremely well known （Romeo A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories， by Angela McAllister， is a colorfully illustrated retelling of Shakespeare's plays aimed at young readers。 Using contemporary prose， it offers a creative way to introduce children and tweens to Shakespeare's famous works。 The blurb about this book says it can be enjoyed by children 5 and up， but I am recommending this one for middle grades and up （10 to 14）。 It includes a variety of his plays， both comedies and tragedies。 Some are extremely well known （Romeo and Juliet） and others not as much （Much Ado About Nothing）。 There were several plays that I had to read in high school English and this would have been a nice supplement to the old English prose。 Each retelling includes an opening quote from the bard himself， and a cast of characters， and consists of about 6 pages of prose。 This retelling will get the main plot across as well as who the characters are。 That said， a contemporary retelling like this （even one done very well） - will never serve as a replacement for the plays themselves。 This would make a great introduction to one of the plays and then the reader， their family， or a class could attend the play that is performed with young viewers in mind。 I ended up enjoying this collection。 My two favourites， MacBeth and King Lear were both represented。 Even though the target audience is children， the author does not beat around the bush with any of the principal themes in these plays。 The character's motives and personalities come across clear as day。 The layout is eye-catching and the illustrations are unique and add much to the understanding of the story。 This would make a great addition to an elementary school library。 The publisher， Lincoln Children's Books， generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request。 The rating， ideas and opinions shared are my own。 。。。more
Faith
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As a former English major and teacher， reading Shakespeare and making it accessible to students was a frequent refrain。 I still remember the epiphany I had my freshman year when I first read Romeo and Juliet for the first time -- it was a love story with all the angst and drama that I witnessed in my high school around me。 Being able to bring it to life by having my students act it out in a daily read-aloud exercise was equally rewarding as I saw them engage and connect in a way that made the te As a former English major and teacher， reading Shakespeare and making it accessible to students was a frequent refrain。 I still remember the epiphany I had my freshman year when I first read Romeo and Juliet for the first time -- it was a love story with all the angst and drama that I witnessed in my high school around me。 Being able to bring it to life by having my students act it out in a daily read-aloud exercise was equally rewarding as I saw them engage and connect in a way that made the text relevant to them。In A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories， each play begins with a visual representation of the primary characters。 A play is condensed into half a dozen pages of narrative text， with illustrations complementing the pages。 I appreciate this structure， although I would only want this to be used as a tool to equip students with the basic framework， inspiring them to read the primary text。 It would also be a way to introduce individuals to the plays earlier than they would be able to read the original works。It's a few years before my girls will be reading the plays in their original format， but A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book that could draw them in now， or it could be a good companion for those who are intimidated with the original plays。 （I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review。） 。。。more
Maria Andreina
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A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book containing summaries of many of the stories written by Shakespeare。 The book is aimed at young kids， with beautiful illustrations and a list of characters at the beginning of every story。I enjoyed the way the stories are told and the illustrations。 The stories are a couple of pages long each， which in my opinion makes them good bed-time stories。 I hadn't read most of them so I had some fun :-）I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for a A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book containing summaries of many of the stories written by Shakespeare。 The book is aimed at young kids， with beautiful illustrations and a list of characters at the beginning of every story。I enjoyed the way the stories are told and the illustrations。 The stories are a couple of pages long each， which in my opinion makes them good bed-time stories。 I hadn't read most of them so I had some fun :-）I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Thanks！ 。。。more
Amna Ikhlaq
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Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book。 I ended up loving this collection more than I had expected！ I've read only a fair share of Shakespeare's plays in abridged form and even less in their original form because it's always harder and more time consuming to grasp the situations in Shakespearean English。 But the adaptation of stories in this book is delightful but also straight forward。 I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading Shakesp Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book。 I ended up loving this collection more than I had expected！ I've read only a fair share of Shakespeare's plays in abridged form and even less in their original form because it's always harder and more time consuming to grasp the situations in Shakespearean English。 But the adaptation of stories in this book is delightful but also straight forward。 I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading Shakespeare this much！ Even though the target audience for this volume is clearly younger， the author does not beat around the bush with any of the principal themes in these plays。 The character's motives and personalities come across clear as day。 The layout is eye-catching and the illustrations are unique and very well complimenting。 I loved the little portion at the end which gave a little background history on all the plays included！A book that I believe can be enjoyed by adolescents and adults alike。Rating: 5/5 stars 。。。more
Amanda
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Really tough to read as an e-book。 An interesting way to make Shakespeare accessible。 Many thanks to NetGalley， the publisher， and the author。 All opinions are my own。
Tasya Dita
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I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest reviewWhat a perfect book to get started on Shakespeare。 I finally understand the hype and I don't have to feel frustrated while reading it！Full review to come。 I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest reviewWhat a perfect book to get started on Shakespeare。 I finally understand the hype and I don't have to feel frustrated while reading it！Full review to come。 。。。more
Jessica Charles {Fictionally Ever After}
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This book is absolutely incredible。 The stories are elegant， but concise - made easy for children to understand。 The illustrations are rich， beautiful and eye-catching and I loved the introduction page to each of the twelve stories。 With each introduction there was an explanation as to who the characters were and a quote from the story。 I think this would make a fantastic gift especially for a young reader。
Leyla Johnson
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This is a very child friendly book about the writing of Shakespeare。 When I was in secondary school， we studied one his plays for a whole year， all written I old English - and it was fabulous but a bit of a challenge at times。This book brings the plays of Macbeth， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet， The Tempest， Midsummers Night Dream， Othello， As You Like It， Julius Caesar， Much Ado About Nothing， King Lear and The Merchant of Venice within the sphere of young people。 Easy to read in simple language， bea This is a very child friendly book about the writing of Shakespeare。 When I was in secondary school， we studied one his plays for a whole year， all written I old English - and it was fabulous but a bit of a challenge at times。This book brings the plays of Macbeth， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet， The Tempest， Midsummers Night Dream， Othello， As You Like It， Julius Caesar， Much Ado About Nothing， King Lear and The Merchant of Venice within the sphere of young people。 Easy to read in simple language， beautifully illustrated and with some explanation， this book brings a mixture of the tragedies and comedies to both young and old in a language that is easy to read。 。。。more
Danielle Phillips
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This was a fun edition to add to our homeschool's Shakespeare study。 The book included all of the greats but in a way that the children could understand so they could appreciate the writing。 The illustrations added to the fun as well。 I hope there will be more great works written in this form。 Thank you NetGalley and Angela McAllister for the opportunity yo read this as an advanced copy。 I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review。 All opinions are my own and a positive review was not This was a fun edition to add to our homeschool's Shakespeare study。 The book included all of the greats but in a way that the children could understand so they could appreciate the writing。 The illustrations added to the fun as well。 I hope there will be more great works written in this form。 Thank you NetGalley and Angela McAllister for the opportunity yo read this as an advanced copy。 I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review。 All opinions are my own and a positive review was not required。 。。。more
Paul Franco
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The Bard for kids。Each play gets a title page， with a famous quote and a mishmash of artwork that shows some of the important points。 That’s followed by a small cast of characters， and finally an illustrated text that boils the story down to its essential elements， just enough to know what’s going on。The easiest way to describe this for Bard buffs is that it’s similar to the Lambs’ book of synopses， only for children。 And it’s illustrated like a kiddie version of the Canterbury Tales。The illustr The Bard for kids。Each play gets a title page， with a famous quote and a mishmash of artwork that shows some of the important points。 That’s followed by a small cast of characters， and finally an illustrated text that boils the story down to its essential elements， just enough to know what’s going on。The easiest way to describe this for Bard buffs is that it’s similar to the Lambs’ book of synopses， only for children。 And it’s illustrated like a kiddie version of the Canterbury Tales。The illustrations are more basic than the words。The Tempest and Twelfth Night were my faves here。Not all the plays are here， but that’s no surprise; only twelve， mostly the famous ones。3。5 pushed up to 4/5 。。。more
Ilona
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Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister。 I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own。I'm so glad that I received an ARC for A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories。 For some time now I've wanted to read Shakespeare's work but was always held back due to the difficult language。 This is a brilliant introduction to some of Shakespeare's work， the tone is more simple and understandable Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister。 I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own。I'm so glad that I received an ARC for A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories。 For some time now I've wanted to read Shakespeare's work but was always held back due to the difficult language。 This is a brilliant introduction to some of Shakespeare's work， the tone is more simple and understandable for a younger audience。 Something I admire about this book is that it doesn't shy away from the original topics as murder， betrayal and death， as one might do while writing for a younger audience。 While I was familiar with a few stories， like Romeo & Juliet， Hamlet， Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing， and found those most enjoyable， I also enjoyed getting to discover some new ones for me like Othello and Twelfth Night。 If you haven't read any Shakespeare yet， found the originals plays difficult to read or if you absolutely love Shakespeare， then I highly recommend A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllistar。 Oh and by the way。。。。 the illustrations by Alice Lindstrom are simply beautiful！ 。。。more
Vidya Tiru
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Angela McAllister provides an accessible， approachable Shakespeare for younger audiences and for all those who stayed away from the bard for any number of reasons。 She writes in straight-forward， clear， contemporary English that make it easy to understand for the intended target audience of 7 – 10 year olds （and even older！）。The plays start off with a quote from the bard accompanied by a cover-page illustration for the play。 A pictorial depiction of the main characters that includes a briefest o Angela McAllister provides an accessible， approachable Shakespeare for younger audiences and for all those who stayed away from the bard for any number of reasons。 She writes in straight-forward， clear， contemporary English that make it easy to understand for the intended target audience of 7 – 10 year olds （and even older！）。The plays start off with a quote from the bard accompanied by a cover-page illustration for the play。 A pictorial depiction of the main characters that includes a briefest of introductions to them follows and the story itself takes about six pages to tell。 Each story is accompanied by about four to five vibrant， collage-style illustrations that capture the feel of the story perfectly （and lend to the tale by doing so）。a stage full of shakespeare stories as you like itWhat I loved:The variety of tales included in the book – the book includes my favorite tale – Twelfth Night， as well as stories like Hamlet， Macbeth， Julius Caesar， A Midsummer Night’s Dream， and Much Ado About Nothing among others。The essence of each story retained in this version for kids without glossing over the harsher events that occur， and within six pages！The inclusion of original lines in betwixt the text seamlessly， like， in the ‘Twelfth Night’ – ‘If music be the food of love， play on’The fact that it proves its point – being accessible for the younger audiences – so well。 My tween dd attested to this fact！It also includes sections with information about Shakespeare and a brief introduction to the plays included in the book， as well as a complete play list， which make for informational and fun reading。The gorgeous illustrations – I loved the color， the collage-style work， and am sure that younger audiences will truly enjoy this artwork。 It seems like just the right amount of illustrations for this age-group making a transition from picture books to chapter books。In Summary:While the beauty of the bard’s original works is lost in a simplified version such as this， the book provides the magic of his plots and the introduction to what could be when young readers read the bard himself。 This will make a great gift to all of those who love to read， to those who are reluctant to read Shakespeare， and also to those who love Shakespeare， and also to introduce the bard to just about any and all audiences （young and old）！Rating: AReading Level: 6+Reread Level: 4/5Disclaimer: Thank You #NetGalley for the DRC of this book; a physical copy of which will be making its way into my home library soon！。 The opinions are my own。 。。。more
Anna
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Good Ol’ Will might have been less intimidating to a scaredy first-year English lit student if there’d had been books such as this one laying around while growing up。 That student may or may not have been me。Studying English as a second language in my country does not involve learning about the contexts of the English literary tradition。 It’s mostly based on grammar， vocabulary， and communications skills。 And I think that is a shame。 Majoring in English is a totally different matter， even so， th Good Ol’ Will might have been less intimidating to a scaredy first-year English lit student if there’d had been books such as this one laying around while growing up。 That student may or may not have been me。Studying English as a second language in my country does not involve learning about the contexts of the English literary tradition。 It’s mostly based on grammar， vocabulary， and communications skills。 And I think that is a shame。 Majoring in English is a totally different matter， even so， that first semester of Shakespeare readings and exams was… well， a midwinter nightmare！I’ve been teaching English for many years now and， most of the times， with my younger， more enthusiast pupils I do it by way of stories， and so here is where books like A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories come in handy。 I was expecting the author to have adapted into prose form only the fun， lighter plays of The Bard of Avon， such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream，” “As You Like It，” or “The Tempest，” but no， this collection includes tragedies as well: “King Lear，” “Macbeth，” and even “Julius Caesar。” I think the point of this book is to acquaint young readers with Shakespeare’s tricky plots and diverse characters。 Alice Lindstrom’s illustrations are vibrant and truly delightful。 At the beginning of each story， there is a decorated title page with a quote from Shakespeare’s corresponding play， followed by one with portraits of the cast of characters。 Then there are up to four or five astonishing page-filling illustrations portraying significant moments in the stories。 They might seem rather puerile， almost caricatural to our critical， grown-up eyes， but I am sure the children will find them highly amusing！Angela McAllister’s book makes for an amazing conversation starter， as the author didn’t gloss over murders， scheming， and betrayals。 This is without a doubt a perfect introduction to the works of a literary genius: they can be read aloud in class to the students or even have them read the stories in role play activities， with the teacher as narrator。 In your home library， the cover alone will make children and adults alike pick this one up and flip through its colourful pages！*Thanks to NetGalley & Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review。* 。。。more
Aimee Dars
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A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is worth purchasing for the beautiful illustrations alone， yet the book is so much more than the art。 The book contains twelve Shakespeare plays， a mix of tragedies （e。g。， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet， Macbeth） and comedies （e。g。， As You Like It and Much Ado about Nothing）。 These are written for children aged five and up but contain quotes from the original plays including many of the most famous lines， and is a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the worl A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is worth purchasing for the beautiful illustrations alone， yet the book is so much more than the art。 The book contains twelve Shakespeare plays， a mix of tragedies （e。g。， Romeo and Juliet， Hamlet， Macbeth） and comedies （e。g。， As You Like It and Much Ado about Nothing）。 These are written for children aged five and up but contain quotes from the original plays including many of the most famous lines， and is a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the world of Shakespeare。 I’m embarrassed to say I’ve only read the Shakespeare assigned in high school and college and only seen a handful of his plays performed live， so reading these stories allowed me to acquaint myself with the basic plot and characters of some of his most famous work。A benefit of having brief versions of a range of Shakespeare’s plays is that it’s possible to see easily the recurring themes--jealousy， betrayal--and devices--mistaken identity， cross-dressing， manipulation-- he used。 Freed from the stress of reading SHAKESPEARE， I enjoyed the stories more and saw the humor more clearly。The design of the book is phenomenal。 Each story begins with a double page spread， the left side with a quote from the play， the right side with a title page beautifully illustrated。 Most of the colors used are deep jewel tones， though each story seems to have a uniquely themed hue。 On the next page appears a cast of characters and a brief explanation of their position or key family relationships。 My only complaint is that the text is small and dense， though that may be an artifact of my aging eyes rather than an objective issue。 This book makes Shakespeare fun for young and old readers alike， and I highly recommend it for your library！Fun Fact: My favorite Shakespeare adaptation is not literature or film， but music: the song， “Romeo and Juliet” written by Mark Knopfler， in the version performed by the Indigo Girls on their album Rites of PassageThanks to Little Children’s Publishing/Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review。~Find Me Online~。。。aka darzy。。。InstagramTwitterFlickrGoodreadsFacebook 。。。more
Cindy
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This book makes Shakespeare accessible to younger readers。 I love that！ I have a couple editions of Shakespeare for kids and was so glad to receive a review copy of this edition as well。 I promptly purchased a copy for my library at home。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy。
Stefanie Kellum
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*I read a digital ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley。
Tessa
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The illustrations in this book are absolutely charming， definitely the best part of the book。 I'd recommend that you flip through and look at the pictures， because they are worth the time。 The writing， on the other hand。。。is not charming。 The Wikipedia summaries of these plays have more character and consistency。 These are poorly written summaries which are painful to slog through。 Try Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare for Shakespeare stories which are actually well-written and enjo The illustrations in this book are absolutely charming， definitely the best part of the book。 I'd recommend that you flip through and look at the pictures， because they are worth the time。 The writing， on the other hand。。。is not charming。 The Wikipedia summaries of these plays have more character and consistency。 These are poorly written summaries which are painful to slog through。 Try Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare for Shakespeare stories which are actually well-written and enjoyable to read。 Four stars for the illustrations， one star for the writing。 ***A free copy of this book was given to me in exchange for my honest review。 Thanks NetGalley！*** 。。。more
Ann
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