A wonderful way to experience 20 of Shakespeare's timeless plays, this retelling of the stories in prose by the famous nineteenth-century brother a...
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Aug 09, 2011
dan
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I read this in my eighth grade English class since I was 'still too young for Shakespeare' but 'too old for Magic Tree House books'. (The scare quotes indicate my contempt for such arbitrary reading level classifications. I'm pretty sure I could have handled Romeo and Juliet in eighth grade.)
Everyone in my class thought I was a "genius" because I was (and I quote) "reading Shakespeare"; they didn't realize that I was only reading 7-pages summaries of his plays. We More...
Everyone in my class thought I was a "genius" because I was (and I quote) "reading Shakespeare"; they didn't realize that I was only reading 7-pages summaries of his plays. We More...
Oct 02, 2009
notgettingenough
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I vaguely recall some years ago Venezuela set up a government department called the Ministry of Love. The idea was to inculcate in poor women the understanding that their babies from the very moment they were born would respond to any stimuli. Poverty shouldn't stop mothers from giving their babies experience of smell and sound and touch and...
My parents certainly wanted that for us. Knowing how poor we were when I was little, I still marvel at the amazing opportunities they conjured More...
My parents certainly wanted that for us. Knowing how poor we were when I was little, I still marvel at the amazing opportunities they conjured More...
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Jun 04, 2011
Robin
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The edition I have was published in 1863. I got it several years ago in Amsterdam. These snippits of Shakespeare provide a wonderful overview for many of his best known works. They were written to instruct young children (particularly nineteenth century girls) on the basic stories in Shakespeare's plays, so that when they grew older and began studying Shakespear in earnest, they would already be familiar with the basics and could focus on learning the more subtle parts of his work. Even as an ad
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Apr 06, 2009
Many people do not enjoy reading Shakepeare, but I think he was a great writer. I love his stories and his plays. I haven't seen many of them but the one's I do know I love. I really liked The Winter's Tale, because it the ending really suprised me. I never even thought that the queen would still be alive and the king would be reunited with her and his daughter after so many years. It's cute how in these kind of stories kids always find their way back to their parent one way or another after bei
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May 29, 2011
* This review is going to be slightly short.
I got this book on my 20th birthday. A friend of mine knew how much I suffer reading Shakespeare and that's I always read simple summaries before reading the original play, so it was very thoughtful of her to bring a book that contains the most famous plays of Shakespeare retold in a very clear and robust style. The fact that the plays are written in "short-stories" style fulled with the main events made the book even easie More...
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Oct 30, 2009
Kay
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Shakespeare is so difficult to wade through. Charles and Mary Lamb took difficult language and made the stories accessible enough that my 6 year old and I have enjoyed getting to know these classics. Of course, we used Barbie dolls and stuff animals to represent all the different characters so that we wouldn't get completely lost, but still... :)
I'm blessed enough to have my grandmother's 1923 edition published by The MacMillan Company. Not sure if the illustrations the same as the o More...
I'm blessed enough to have my grandmother's 1923 edition published by The MacMillan Company. Not sure if the illustrations the same as the o More...
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Aug 23, 2010
Bunxena
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A very good way to introduce kids to the stories of Shakespeare. Apparently I found Comedy of Errors just as hilarious then as I do now, and I was very indignant with Regan and Goneril's treatment of their father Lear ("I would never do that to MY dad"). And anything that makes Hamlet accessible to a Grade 6 student is probably a good thing.
Also am I crazy or does Shakespeare have an earring on the cover of the Puffin Classics edition?? I totally think he does and was utter More...
Also am I crazy or does Shakespeare have an earring on the cover of the Puffin Classics edition?? I totally think he does and was utter More...
Dec 11, 2010
Winna
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The book is mooched from Amelia and her sister from Malaysia.
I have mooched for an original complete tales of Shakespeare from Robert in the UK but the book hasn't arrived yet. This book by the Lamb husband and wife is supposed to be a simpler version of Shakespeare's long and beautiful English words. I love his works and most of his stories have been used as course materials during my college, high school and even middle school years, so I'm pretty much familiar with them. The only th More...
I have mooched for an original complete tales of Shakespeare from Robert in the UK but the book hasn't arrived yet. This book by the Lamb husband and wife is supposed to be a simpler version of Shakespeare's long and beautiful English words. I love his works and most of his stories have been used as course materials during my college, high school and even middle school years, so I'm pretty much familiar with them. The only th More...
Jan 05, 2012
Nicholas
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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1794123.ht...
It's really very good - a retelling of Shakespeare's dramas, which are not really easy reading for today's reader (or even the reader of 1807) in digestible prose, aimed at sophisticated teenagers. It's surprising what is censored and what is kept in, given how we tend to imagine nineteenth-century senisibilities - the blinding in King Lear is out, and the detail of Antiochus' incest (and Marina's life in the brothel) in Pericles, but so for More...
It's really very good - a retelling of Shakespeare's dramas, which are not really easy reading for today's reader (or even the reader of 1807) in digestible prose, aimed at sophisticated teenagers. It's surprising what is censored and what is kept in, given how we tend to imagine nineteenth-century senisibilities - the blinding in King Lear is out, and the detail of Antiochus' incest (and Marina's life in the brothel) in Pericles, but so for More...
Dec 10, 2011
Dayna
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Originally published in 1807 this book is almost as classic as the plays by the bard himself. The Lamb's have taken 20 of Shakespeare's best plays and retold them in a more modern style. All character dialogue however, comes straight from the plays. A great way to become familiar with these masterpieces of literature before you tackle the original versions. Highly recommended for everyone who wants a better understanding of Shakespeare's great works in a readable modern format.
Apr 07, 2009
David
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Although Shakespeare's stories are famous and widely-known, there are still many I have not heard of. His stories are still as hard to understand as it was back in 9th grade when i had to read Romeo and Juliet. At least having read that, now i am able to understand the story better. His tragedies are indeed very tragic and although people find pity and empathy for the protagonists, people are at the same time, enjoying themselves over the pain and suffering of the protagonists. Without pain and
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Jan 01, 2012
Abdulrahman
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If you have read a play for Shakespeare and enjoyed it very much but couldn't beat the language barrier, then go for this book.
Simple language, transferring the story and characters and actions in a simple to understand and appreciate. Though the book is targeted for kids, it is highly good for adults just as well.
If you are the type of person who still want to go through the hassle of understanding an original play with old English, do it or else go for this.
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Simple language, transferring the story and characters and actions in a simple to understand and appreciate. Though the book is targeted for kids, it is highly good for adults just as well.
If you are the type of person who still want to go through the hassle of understanding an original play with old English, do it or else go for this.
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Jun 28, 2011
Tessa
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Picked this up on a whim in the kids' section of our library. Reis and I watched a BBC performance of "Romeo and Juliet" recently, and he of course found the language intimidating (though he loved all the dramatic deaths!) This prose style adaptation of many Shakespeare classics intrigued me.
I didn't read all of these, just the plays that I read in college but didn't remember much of the plot, like King Lear and Othello. Very charmingly written versions in prose. Obviously More...
I didn't read all of these, just the plays that I read in college but didn't remember much of the plot, like King Lear and Othello. Very charmingly written versions in prose. Obviously More...
Nov 15, 2010
Julie
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Even though this was written for children a couple of centuries ago I would recommend it for young adults and anyone who would like to understand Shakespeare better. Charles Lamb retold the tragedies and his sister Mary reold the comedies. They did a superb job of telling the stories including some of Shakespeare's original. I've read that Lamb revived the popularity of Shakespeare in the early 1800s.
Apr 15, 2009
Rebecca
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Quite good. Allows you to get at the story of the plays without sifting through tedious dialogue. It incorporates all the main and most famous quotes from his best known plays and it is well written with all the important plot details. It is quite amazing how many Shakespeare plays involve people giving away rings their lovers gave them and cases of mistaken identity. Added to this is that fact that Shakespeare's characters fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat or during random eye contac
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Dec 16, 2011
شيماء
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استمتعت جدا بقراءة هذا الكتاب انه عبارة عن عدة روايات لشكسبير تم تبسيطها للاطفال ولذلك فلغتها الانجليزية سهلة وبسيطة ، فلم تكن مجرد تجربة ممتعةفقط بالقراءة لشكسبير ولكن ايضا تساعدك على تحسين لغتك الانجليزية
Jul 28, 2011
Carolee
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This was a difficult book to locate on ALL the sites ... so while looking for date and publisher I found the ISBN on the inside jacket cover ... with a British pound price. Not sure how I came by this book - it's a lovely hardcover with full page illustrations by Karel Svolinsky interspersed throughout. Got it for the kids, but I'll end up keeping it for myself.
Aug 05, 2008
Helen
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I have never read any of Shakespeare's plays, and after reading Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, I got this to learn more about his plays. Rafe Esquith said in his book that you really can't get a feeling for the plays from just reading the plays and that this book is a good source for the stories that the plays tell. I will try it and see how long I can stick with it.
I have read all twenty of the stories in this volume and was very interested to read the stories of Shakespeare's pl More...
I have read all twenty of the stories in this volume and was very interested to read the stories of Shakespeare's pl More...
Oct 23, 2007
Avril
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I've been slowly reading story by story from this book to my elder daughter for a few years. It's a great introduction to Shakespeare.
The Lambs had a grand idea when they decided to re-write Shakespeare's plays into these short stories. They are far more accessible in this form. Of course, the grandeur and loveliness of Shakespeare's poetic genius is not carried over, but the seed of the story is.
I recommend this book to teens wrestling with Shakespeare in high school. More...
The Lambs had a grand idea when they decided to re-write Shakespeare's plays into these short stories. They are far more accessible in this form. Of course, the grandeur and loveliness of Shakespeare's poetic genius is not carried over, but the seed of the story is.
I recommend this book to teens wrestling with Shakespeare in high school. More...
Feb 08, 2011
Ana
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If you're a fan of short stories and suck at interpreting prolific sentences, this book is for you. This is a good introduction for people who wants to meet Shakespeare's works but too lazy to read them.
It's like reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology, easy, breezy, reading but satisfying.
It's like reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology, easy, breezy, reading but satisfying.
Dec 02, 2008
Robin
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Okay so heres the deal... i thought that the stories would be fun and really talk in depth about what the stories were about, it they did talk in depth but the problem was there was no dialogue in the stories, so I couldn't really understand which characters were talking. But thankfully, I read half of the stories that were in the books already, so I knew who was talking and when, but with the stories that I have never read before I was a little confused. But I liked all of the stories, and I th
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Dec 27, 2011
Crystal
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Need to get to know some of the plays from Shakespeare that you haven't read or seen. This is the book. It is in the public domain so it is easy to read or listen too. I listened to a librivox version with Karen Savage as the narrator. It was great.
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Mar 12, 2009
Christina
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I got more than half-way through this and only neglected to finish it because it was due back at the library. Wonderful summaries of the plays I have read, and the summaries of the ones I hadn't read made me want to read them.
May 21, 2010
Angie
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One of the best books to lead any young person into the plays of Shakespeare beautifully. I loved these as a child and it has been fun reading them to my kids. Its still as fresh now as I remember it. A joy.
Jul 18, 2011
Jon
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If you are looking for a brief, relatively accessible, summary of Shakespeare's plays, this fits the bill. It took me a while to get into the style, but once I did, I began to very much appreciate the presentation of the essence of each story. Of course much is lost, but they do seek to maintain some of the key lines in the key scenes of the various plays. I also like the fact that it was written a long time ago for children and yet it still works. I'm not sure kids today would appreciate it, bu
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Aug 03, 2009
Kadie
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This is a good book for those of us who like Shakespeare, but have a hard time with his flowery writing. It's got all of the Shakespeare stories, but not the "ye olde english" writing.
Apr 06, 2011
Jtz
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this is a very good pre-shakespeare book for kids. the tales are told in a story line instead of a play scrpt, so i find it easier to follow!:) it is also a good read-aloud.
May 03, 2010
Becky
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This book was a great adventure for someone as unenlightened as me. All of Shakespear's plays are summarized in a neat 10-20 pages and include famous or/and pivotal quotes.
Oct 25, 2010
Michelle
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Well, I certainly thought it was easier to read these stories (though there were a lot of annoyingly simply spelling mistakes) than the original Shakespeare. :)
Jul 01, 2011
Megan
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I have copies of this book on each coast - in the hopes of reading stories to my niece and nephew if I can get them to sit still long enough.
