Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories [Hardcover]

How to introduce children to Shakespeare, not just to the stories behind the plays but to the richness of Shakespeare’s language and the depth of his characters: That’s the challenge that Leon Garfield, no slouch as a wordsmith himself, sets out to meet in his monumental and utterly absorbingShakespeare Stories. Here twenty-one of the Bard’s plays are refashioned into stories that are true to the wit, the humor, the wisdom, the sublime heights, the terrifying depths, and above all the poetry of their great originals. Throughout, Garfield skillfully weaves in Shakespeare’s own words, accustoming young readers to language and lines that might at first seem forbiddingly unfamiliar.Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Storiesis an essential distillation—a truly Shakespearean tribute to Shakespeare’s genius and a delight for children and parents alike.

In these lively and evocative pages a child will hear Shakespeare’s poetry set in prose that will lay the groundwork for many a future enchanted evening at the theater.” –Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

Leon Garfield’s performance inShakespeare Storiesis masterly.The Merchant of Venice,The Taming of the Shrew,Twelfth Night, andA Midsummer Night’s Dreambest reveal the virtuosity Mr. Garfield has developed in many years of writing dozens of children’s books and historical novels. In Mr. Garfield’s deft narratives the laughter is the same that one finds in the plays, but so is the uneasiness. He gets the balances right.  —D. J. R. Bruckner,The New York Times

Here is an alternative to yellow study guides, one in which explication is available in the graceful prose. Garfield’s seamless movement between his own descriptive language and Shakespeare’s has never worked better.  —Sally Margolis,School Library JournlCM