Rebecca Piatt Davidson

Rebecca Piatt Davidson teams up with Caldecott Honor artist Anita Lobel to deliver this artful, elegant, and creative exploration of Shakespeare's major works. In a familiar predictive/cumulative style (think "12 Days of Christmas"), readers are transported into Shakespeare's world where they are introduced to several significant characters and locations. In addition to beautiful illustrations which bring to life key scenes and elements from works such as ROMEO & JULIET and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, the narrative structure weaves and connects the characters and action seamlessly from play to play. In this book, a young William Shakespeare "makes words into art," and the sentiment is captured beautifully in the form and delivery of this simple and yet multilayered story wherein he proclaims: "You'll be my players, And the world, my stage. We'll live through the tales That unfold on each page!" Ultimately, the whole "cast" surrounds young William Shakespeare on-stage for a triumphant curtain call. This text is intended for children and would make an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for the unfamiliar reader. At the same time, the range and variety of Shakespeare's work explored here (history, comedy, tragedy, poetry, etc.) and the diversity of the characters and plots makes this the kind of book with which readers of all ages and backgrounds can connect.… (meer)