One of the few books about Shakespeare that children and adults can equally enjoy sharing.
Costume designer Leech (The Dollies Put On a Play, 2009, etc.) has created engaging tableaux of scenes from a variety of Shakespeare plays for the picture-book crowd.
Each spread features a photograph of the actors—18-inch dolls—in richly detailed dress against luscious backgrounds on the right, with a quote from a play on the left. The first spread portraying Romeo and Juliet on the balcony will surely draw the youngest readers into the beautiful world Leech and her talented team have created. The charming photo shows a caped Romeo climbing toward Juliet, in period dress and snood, whose balcony appears to be made from an oversize flowerpot with real-looking climbing ivy; dramatic clouds light the night sky in the background. The text reads simply: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” with speaker, play, act and scene noted. Since the text is entirely penned by Shakespeare, the author’s contribution is in the selection. Tantrum-prone youngsters are likely to relate to Katharina’s speech from The Taming of the Shrew: “Nay then, do what thou canst. I will not go today; no, nor tomorrow, not ’til I please myself.” However, Falstaff’s lines from Merry Wives of Windsor may first alarm and then confuse young readers: “They are fairies; he that speaks to them shall die. I’ll wink and couch; no man their works must eye!” The spread showing young Hamlet holding poor Yorick’s skull, seemingly freshly dug from a woodland grave, may stir up some questions. Young readers will also be fascinated by the three witches from Macbeth and delight in the musicians from Twelfth Night and Titania and Bottom’s flowery bower from Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the scene showing Prospero engaged in secret studies, the detail in his scarf, robe and scepter is remarkable. While the picture-book age group is too young to appreciate the plots and meanings of Shakespeare’s plays, this confection will give them a good taste of Shakespeare’s world and the desire to explore it more fully when they are older.
One of the few books about Shakespeare that children and adults can equally enjoy sharing.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0984913374
Page Count: 32
Publisher: The Home Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
