Naomi J. Miller

Mary Sidney is an aristocratic girl growing up in Elizabethan England. After the death of her beloved sister Mary makes a dynastic marriage to an older widower who promises to let her intellect flourish. Rose Commin is the daughter of a healer accused of being a witch who is sent to work for Lady Katherine. When Katherine dies Rose returns in the service of the new lady, Mary. As Mary's interest in alchemy grows, so does her prodigious appetite for knowledge and from her Rose also grows.
This is a fictionalised account of the life of Mary Sidney, sister to Philip Sidney and one of the first female authors to be published. As a novelisation it is adequate enough, if a little long-winded. However as the introduction to the life of an interesting and pioneering woman it is of more interest.… (meer)

This collection of essays discusses various adaptations of Shakespeare for children, critical viewpoints of Shakespeare's plays and adaptations, and pedagogy in teaching Shakespeare to grades K-12. Probably most useful for teachers (though part 1 about adaptations could also be of interest to parents and librarians), I found in reading these essays that I had a definite opinion about my own approach to Shakespeare, story, or really any sort of convention that becomes ingrained. Each author has his or her own unique perspective, but agreed most with those who would "play" with Shakespeare's words or story, arguing that this is exactly what Shakespeare himself did when he rewrote the works of those who came before him. If his work is not entirely original, do we really have to hold his work up as untouchable?

Though I am not a teacher and would not find the pedagogy portion of this useful in any practical way, I enjoyed this exploration of Shakespeare as a fan of many of his plays and historical fiction about his times. Many of the books mentioned, both fiction based on Shakespeare's plays or more scholarly critical works found their way onto my TBR list.… (meer)