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William Shakespeare's the Tempest
Discover the Bard's dazzling play about magic, revenge, and forgiveness, reimagined by Shakespeare's Globe as a gorgeously illustrated picture book for children.
I told him that if I were a mortal, I would forgive them.
Ariel is a spirit of the air who can fly, ride on clouds, and glow bright as fire. When his master, the magician Prospero, is overthrown by his brother as the Duke of Milan, Ariel joins Prospero and his baby daughter on a journey that will bring them to a beautiful island ruled by the monstrous Caliban -- and to a series of events that lead to a vengeful storm, confounding spells, true romance, and a master who is persuaded to give his transgressors a second chance. Narrated from Ariel's perspective, the story is told in language that is true to the original play but accessible to all. With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Jane Ray, this captivating retelling is a magical way to introduce children to one of the best-loved works of the world's greatest playwright.
I told him that if I were a mortal, I would forgive them.
Ariel is a spirit of the air who can fly, ride on clouds, and glow bright as fire. When his master, the magician Prospero, is overthrown by his brother as the Duke of Milan, Ariel joins Prospero and his baby daughter on a journey that will bring them to a beautiful island ruled by the monstrous Caliban -- and to a series of events that lead to a vengeful storm, confounding spells, true romance, and a master who is persuaded to give his transgressors a second chance. Narrated from Ariel's perspective, the story is told in language that is true to the original play but accessible to all. With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Jane Ray, this captivating retelling is a magical way to introduce children to one of the best-loved works of the world's greatest playwright.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published April 7, 2020
46 people want to read
About the author
Georghia Ellinas
8 books1 followerGeorghia Ellinas, a former English teacher, has focused on working with teachers across the U.K. and the world for the last thirty years. She has written several books about teaching Shakespeare, and in her role as Head of Learning at Shakespeare's Globe was responsible for creating programs to make Shakespeare accessible and relevant to children of all ages. She lives in the south of England.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 13, 2021
Absolutely stellar gorgeous art that captures the wild magic of Shakespeare’s The Tempest beautifully.
The prose does a good job synopsizing the story for kids. It doesn’t have the poetic umph of Shakespeare, but it’s well crafted.
The prose does a good job synopsizing the story for kids. It doesn’t have the poetic umph of Shakespeare, but it’s well crafted.
January 2, 2020
4 stars for Jane Ray’s gorgeous, detailed and very colourful illustrations. She captures the magic, the strangeness & the intrigue beautifully. Every page dazzles with the supernatural and the spectacle. This is a picture book to pour over the details and revel in the imagery.
Sadly the story fails to sparkle in the same way, but I’m not sure it’s possible to condense, abridge and modernise Shakespeare with any degree of success. I’ve certainly never read a modern retelling of any of his work, that works.
Sadly the story fails to sparkle in the same way, but I’m not sure it’s possible to condense, abridge and modernise Shakespeare with any degree of success. I’ve certainly never read a modern retelling of any of his work, that works.
October 2, 2020
I am biased because I was Prospero in a college production, but I didn't have to be very biased. This is a great retelling of the Shakespeare play that everyone thinks they know better than they do. And it's gorgeously illustrated.
June 13, 2025
A good synopsis for children. Beautiful illustrations.
Want to read
December 31, 2020Mentioned in WORLD.
November 5, 2020
Not 100% sure who the best audience for this book would be--kids whose parents are trying to introduce them to classics? A kid who is going to a performance of the play and wants an overview? Young Shakespeare aficionados? High School thespians? Though the amount of text was good for kids, there is still a lot of content packed in there that makes it a tad more advanced. In any case, The Tempest is my favorite Shakespeare play, so of course I loved this and thought the illustrations were intriguing.
August 19, 2021
The story of the Tempest is reimagined for the picture book market in this beautifully illustrated edition. Told from the sprite Ariel’s view point, all the major plot points are covered from the Shakespearean play of the same name. We meet her master Prospero, his daughter Miranda, and those who plotted against them.
While this version does retell the story in an appropriate way for young children, there are sections of the text taken from the play and those sections may be harder for young children to understand. The oversized case and imaginative water color illustrations are the star of the show, as they should be in a picture book. The presentation makes it a great read aloud for groups and classes. This is a great resource authorized by the Shakespeare’s Globe and brought to US market by Candlewick. It could be a fun read aloud introduction for tween and teen classes experiencing Shakespeare in their literature classes.
I would recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
While this version does retell the story in an appropriate way for young children, there are sections of the text taken from the play and those sections may be harder for young children to understand. The oversized case and imaginative water color illustrations are the star of the show, as they should be in a picture book. The presentation makes it a great read aloud for groups and classes. This is a great resource authorized by the Shakespeare’s Globe and brought to US market by Candlewick. It could be a fun read aloud introduction for tween and teen classes experiencing Shakespeare in their literature classes.
I would recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
May 17, 2020
Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” is retold in picture book form, with gorgeous illustrations that beautifully convey the magical tale. Ariel, spirit of the air, tells of the magician Prospero and the political events in Milan that force him to flea with his daughter, the baby Miranda. Caliban, the monster son of Sycorax, tries to force them off the idyllic island where they end up. Prospero’s cleverness and forgiveness makes everything turn out well. A story about forgiveness certainly is welcome in this day and age. Jane Ray’s rich, warm watercolor art is enough to carry the book, with collage-like elements and colors that almost shimmer on the page. Snippets of Shakespeare’s words are sprinkled throughout.
The story, like most of Shakespeare’s plays, is incredibly complicated, with many characters, multiple deceptions, and magic. Whether kids will be able to “get it” or not, I don’t know. But I do know that parents ask for adaptations of his work, so here is one you can feel good about offering them.
The story, like most of Shakespeare’s plays, is incredibly complicated, with many characters, multiple deceptions, and magic. Whether kids will be able to “get it” or not, I don’t know. But I do know that parents ask for adaptations of his work, so here is one you can feel good about offering them.
November 27, 2020
Love the sparkly cover, if you're into that sort of thing. I've always enjoyed retellings of Shakespeare stories into children's book form. It is an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's work. I haven't read the Shakespeare original of the Tempest, so I can't compare the two. However! A quick run-down of the plot: A duke is ousted by family rivals. Accompanied to an island by his magic books and his daughter, he saves the narrator - a magical sprite. The sprite creates a tempest (dope storm) which washes ashore the family rivals as they sail by and exacts upon them a small revenge.
The tale delivers a fine moral about the power of forgiveness (spoiler?) and did so right when I needed it.
This is a great picture book to share with kids. The text is suitable for an all-ages read aloud, attention spans 3+ (unless you're just going to tell your own, quicker version via pretty pictures).
The tale delivers a fine moral about the power of forgiveness (spoiler?) and did so right when I needed it.
This is a great picture book to share with kids. The text is suitable for an all-ages read aloud, attention spans 3+ (unless you're just going to tell your own, quicker version via pretty pictures).
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April 26, 2020I have a special soft-spot for Shakespeare's The Tempest ever since my sixth-grade class production. This adaptation, authorized by Shakespeare's Globe theater, reimagines the fantastical story of Prospero, the displaced Duke of Milan, as a picture book for children. Told from the perspective of the sprite Ariel, this book captures all of the magic, mischief, and mirth from the play into an engaging narrative that surrounds readers in one of Shakespeare's most evocative worlds.
Fragments of Shakespeare's original dialogue is featured through the book, and gorgeous full-bleed illustrations are properly transportive.
Fragments of Shakespeare's original dialogue is featured through the book, and gorgeous full-bleed illustrations are properly transportive.
July 30, 2020
I am so torn on this book if I'm honest.
I absolutely LOVE the artwork in the book so much and was saddened that such a physically beautiful book fell so short in the story for me.
I am normally all about modernizing/attempting to make the Bard more accessible to a larger audience but the way this story did it just lost too much of the poetic tone for me to enjoy the story or feel invested.
I absolutely LOVE the artwork in the book so much and was saddened that such a physically beautiful book fell so short in the story for me.
I am normally all about modernizing/attempting to make the Bard more accessible to a larger audience but the way this story did it just lost too much of the poetic tone for me to enjoy the story or feel invested.
September 21, 2020
This was a GREAT children's book!! The retelling is sooo good and it's beautifully illustrated!! It's told by Ariel, the spirit of the air and how Ariel "used magic to alter the lives of others." The more adult aspects of The Tempest are left out and the story reads very well and emphasizes that forgiveness is greater than revenge.
May 2, 2024
Told from the point of view of Ariel, we get the story of The Tempest told in chronological order, so none of those "As You Know Bob" that you get in the original. Bright, tropical colors fill the illustrations, and, for a picture book, it does an excellent job covering all events and characters.
July 1, 2020
Tempest in picture book form.
Beautiful pictures. Questionable if it can get interest from children.
Beautiful pictures. Questionable if it can get interest from children.
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July 2, 2020A decent retelling of The Tempest for kids, but leaving out drunken, scheming Stephano and Trinculo is a freaking travesty.
August 2, 2020
"... forgiveness is greater than revenge." Gorgeously illustrated retelling of the classic tale.
September 23, 2020
Prospero forgives those who wronged him and returns to Milan as the duke. Miranda marries Ferdinand and becomes the queen of Naples.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2021
Amazing illustrations and breaks the story down very well. A great way to learn some basic Shakespeare as an adult or to share with kids.
July 21, 2021
A lovely, engaging, and accessible retelling with lush, enchanting illustrations by Jane Ray.
March 27, 2022
i took the gonzalo erasure personally!!
May 18, 2022
It is definitely an over simplified version of the story but the illustrations are gorgeous
October 15, 2022
Beautiful and expressive artwork
November 22, 2023
GORGEOUS illustrations!!!
February 9, 2024
This is a short, picture book length retelling of the play, that can be understood by early elementary age children. It is beautifully illustrated by Jane Ray.
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January 15, 2025A beautiful rendition
November 30, 2019
The illustrations are gorgeous! The illustrator has showed a knack for details. They’re intricate and demand readers to look at them over and over again. It’s definitely a feast for the eyes!
I’m not a huge fan of the plot but I love how it demonstrated the ugly side of humans. Revenge and power makes people do “strange, frightening yet brilliant things” indeed. Even thought it’s a retelling, I still had trouble making sense of the storyline. Maybe, it’s a me-thing. I find it challenging to appreciate any of Shakespeare’s creations 😖
Two sentences that I’m a huge fan of is “Prospero made sure he took all his books. They were too important to leave behind.” YAS, this is a huge mood! I kind of liked Prospero’s character even though he was mostly seeking revenge. He reminded me of Freud and the unconscious mind where most of the content in it are unacceptable to our rational, conscious selves. Prospero acted all of those horrible thoughts out but eventually he realises that those aren’t cool.
Overall, “The Tempest” is a book I would go over in future solely because of its illustrations. The plot takes a while to get to you but it makes for a quick read! I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of labyrinthine-like illustrations. Thank you to #pansing @definitelybooks for recommending this gorgeous book! This is available at all good bookstores 😏
I’m not a huge fan of the plot but I love how it demonstrated the ugly side of humans. Revenge and power makes people do “strange, frightening yet brilliant things” indeed. Even thought it’s a retelling, I still had trouble making sense of the storyline. Maybe, it’s a me-thing. I find it challenging to appreciate any of Shakespeare’s creations 😖
Two sentences that I’m a huge fan of is “Prospero made sure he took all his books. They were too important to leave behind.” YAS, this is a huge mood! I kind of liked Prospero’s character even though he was mostly seeking revenge. He reminded me of Freud and the unconscious mind where most of the content in it are unacceptable to our rational, conscious selves. Prospero acted all of those horrible thoughts out but eventually he realises that those aren’t cool.
Overall, “The Tempest” is a book I would go over in future solely because of its illustrations. The plot takes a while to get to you but it makes for a quick read! I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of labyrinthine-like illustrations. Thank you to #pansing @definitelybooks for recommending this gorgeous book! This is available at all good bookstores 😏
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October 28, 2019Magpies Review
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews