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A review by readsewknit
A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister
4.0
As a former English major and teacher, reading Shakespeare and making it accessible to students was a frequent refrain. I still remember the epiphany I had my freshman year when I first read Romeo and Juliet for the first time -- it was a love story with all the angst and drama that I witnessed in my high school around me. Being able to bring it to life by having my students act it out in a daily read-aloud exercise was equally rewarding as I saw them engage and connect in a way that made the text relevant to them.
In A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories, each play begins with a visual representation of the primary characters. A play is condensed into half a dozen pages of narrative text, with illustrations complementing the pages. I appreciate this structure, although I would only want this to be used as a tool to equip students with the basic framework, inspiring them to read the primary text. It would also be a way to introduce individuals to the plays earlier than they would be able to read the original works.
It's a few years before my girls will be reading the plays in their original format, but A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book that could draw them in now, or it could be a good companion for those who are intimidated with the original plays.
(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.)
In A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories, each play begins with a visual representation of the primary characters. A play is condensed into half a dozen pages of narrative text, with illustrations complementing the pages. I appreciate this structure, although I would only want this to be used as a tool to equip students with the basic framework, inspiring them to read the primary text. It would also be a way to introduce individuals to the plays earlier than they would be able to read the original works.
It's a few years before my girls will be reading the plays in their original format, but A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book that could draw them in now, or it could be a good companion for those who are intimidated with the original plays.
(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.)