A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories

This was a well-written and easy introduction to Shakespeare for young readers, providing a short story version of a dozen plays. Note that it pulls no punches, telling the stories as Shakespeare wrote them, so there's no hiding the murder, intrigue, and double-cross - and there's a lot of it, for fully half of these plays are the tragedies, the other half the comedies. There are none from the 'histories'. Overall, I think this worked well and it strikes me as a great way to get your kids interested in a highly enduring and popular writer.

The book didn't offer anything aside from the plays - apart from a few illustrations by Alice Lindstrom, which I personally could have done without because I did not feel they contributed anything beyond padding. I'd rather have seen some information or commentary added, and there was a small section at the back with a short paragraph on each included play which gave some background details, but it was very brief.

The plays do not appear to be in any kind of order that I could see. For example, Romeo and Juliet was written before Macbeth, yet they're the first two plays and in the opposite chronological order. The plays are these:

The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. It's sourced from the Holinshed's Chronicles published a decade or two earlier and influenced by the 1590 witch trials in Scotland. It begins with MacBeth coming home from battle to be accosted by three witches who tell him he will become king, while his companion Banquo will be the father of kings but never king himself. In many ways it's just a rejiggered version of Hamlet. MacBeth, rather than wait for fate to crown him decides to hasten things along. He murders King Duncan, leaving 'evidence' that lays the blame on the king's guards (who had been drugged by Macbeth's wife). Fearing the blame trail would lead to them, Duncan's two sons flee, and MacBeth is crowned king, but like Hamlet, he can't overcome his fears and doubts and this leads to a downhill trail of guilt, suspicion, murder, and discovery. The play was essentially a paean to King James and was evidently written (or at least amended) in the aftermath of The Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Romeo and Juliet which ought to need no introduction, is an early play of Shakespeare's once again ripped-off from an Italian precursor as so many of his works seem to be! The story of Mariotto and Gianozza by Masuccio Salernitano is the source, later adapted as Giulietta e Romeo and containing the entire story as Shakespeare appropriated it. The warring family names are perhaps from Dante's Divine Comedy: Montecchi and Cappelletti. It also has parallels in Pyramus and Thisbe which was a play featured in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream also included in this collection.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark popularly known as just 'Hamlet' is a play that exists in three different versions, having evidently been re-written by Shakespeare several times. Set in Denmark, it tells the story of a young prince set on a course of revenge by his father's ghost, who claims he was murdered by his brother, who now happens to be married to Hamlet's mom, and is king. You know, no one ever explained to me how that worked. Didn't the crown pass from father to son? Why is the uncle the king and not Hamlet? This was written during the reign of Elizabeth the first, and she was queen in her own right, so maybe Hamlet's mom was queen in her own right? This is one of Shakespeare's plays where everyone dies. He seemed to enjoy writing those. As with all his other works, he ripped off this idea directly from the Scandinavian story of Amleth.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fluffy nonsensical story of mixed loves and confusion written around the same time as Much Ado About Nothing. I much prefer the latter. This play is one of Shakespeare's earliest and the opening lines perhaps wisely invite the observer to pretend it's only a dream if they don't like it. Helena is in love with Demetrius who loves Hermia who loves Lysander, but Hermia's father wishes her to marry Ron Weasely...er, Demetrius. Sorry! All this is worked out in the end by Robin Goodfellow aka 'Puck' and his magic potion. Meanwhile a troop of players are practicing a play (Pyramus and Thisbe) which they hope to put on at the Duke's wedding. One particularly self-opinionated player named Bottom becomes the object of Puck's self-amusement as his features become those of an ass (Bottom, ass - get it? Shakespeare was not known for subtlety!). Following Fairy King Oberon's earlier instructions, Puck makes Queen Titania fall in love with this ass. This is one of Shakespeare's few plays which he did not rip-off from some other source.
The Tempest is thought to be the last play Shakespeare wrote and sees him once again returning to the magical as a once again an exiled Duke (cf As You Like It!) gains a belated revenge - of a sort. There is no single source that Shakespeare used for this one, so it's more like his own work for a change.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Ripped-off from yet another Italian source (The Deceived Ones), this is a comedy once again featuring twins as in The Comedy of Errors which features two sets. Shakespeare himself was the father of twins: Hamnet who died as a child, and Judith who lived to a ripe old age. In the case of this play the twins are Viola and Sebastian, who become separated when their ship wrecks. Thinking her brother has died and hoping for a better life as a man, she takes her brother's male identity, but calls herself Cesario, and becomes a trusted confidante and companion of Duke Orsino, while at the same time falling for him. Meanwhile, thinking his sister dead, her brother starts life anew and ends up encountering her accidentally, but not before confusion has been set in motion as Orsini sends Cesario to court Olivia, who of course has no interest in Orsino, but who falls for Cesario. So once again we get the same old Shakespeare routines we've seen so many times before. As it happens I like this play and it is, methinks, my favorite along with Much Ado About Nothing.
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a direct rip-off of Un Capitano Moro, aka A Moorish Captain by Cinthio, and from which the name Desdemona was taken directly. The trouble-making Iago, who is the Don John of this story, feeds poisonous untruths to his boss, Othello, who had failed to promote Iago in his military unit. Iago sets his boss against his wife and eventually causes Othello to suffocate his wife and then upon learning too late of her innocence, kill himself.
As You Like It is believed to have been written in 1599 and tells the story of Shakespeare's famous Rosalind (Romeo's soon-ditched 'undying live') and her cousin Celia, who flee her cruel uncle's court and move into the Forest of Arden where others are also in exile. Arden, situated in almost the geographical center of England (not far from where I am from!), is now no longer a forest worth the name. The story is somewhat confused because while Arden is in England, the play is set in France, yet the Forest of the Ardennes lies in Belgium and Luxembourg! Shakespeare was very confused! He was one of history's most famous rip-off artists. If he were writing today he'd be doing young adult trilogies galore. He took this tale from the source story for what later became known as The Tale of Gamelyn.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was written around the same time as As You Like It and Hamlet and despite its title, is really more about Brutus and his plot to assassinate Caesar, whom he thought was bad for Rome, but really, would you want to see a play named 'Brutus' when you could see one named 'Julius Caesar'? I think people would rather see a play named 'Popeye' than one named 'Brutus'! Shakespeare took his story from Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's 'Lives' retaining many folk tales that had no historical provenance (such as the 'Et Tu Brute' line, which Caesar never said) as well as compressing events for the sake or performing them on a small stage.
Much Ado About Nothing! I read somewhere that in Shakespeare's time that last word in the title would have been read as 'noting' and therefore was a double entendre. If you take note, you'll notice that the importance of being noted, or of failing to take note, is at the forefront of this play. Beatrice makes mention of marking (i.e. paying attention to) something in her exchange with Benedick, and shortly thereafter, Claudio and he make mention of noting Hero. Written roughly around the same time as A Midsummer Night's Dream, this play was perhaps taken from Orlando Furioso (Furious Orlando) by Ludovico Ariosto and from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. In a sense it's very much like Midsummer Night's Dream in that there's a meddlesome interloper and mistaken identity. In this case the meddler is Don John, Don Pedro's evil brother. The absurdly-named Hero is besmirched by trickery and the original 'fighting couple who fall in love' (Benedick and Beatrice), which is such a staple of cheaply-written modern romances, begin at odds and even fall in love here.
King Lear is another tragedy taken from semi-historical sources about the ancient English character known as Leir, and he also took the character of Cordelia from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. The tragic ending was displeasing to so many that an alternative happy ending was later used - and for many years before the original was restored to favor. Shakespeare's play appeared about a decade after a comedy written about this same king who was believed to have reigned in the eighth century BC.
The Most Excellent Historie of the Merchant of Venice dates to the end of the sixteenth century and is considered a comedy, but with high dramatic content. It's a direct rip-off of Il Pecorone by Giovanni Fiorentino. Pecorone is an Italian word related to sheep (pecora), not to be confused with Percorino which is a type of cheese made from sheep's milk; so the meaning here is someone who is weak willed or easily led and no doubt refers to Antonio being sorely abused by Bassanio. Bassanio is a dilettante and profligate who wants Portia, and who persuades Antonio to loan him 3,000 ducats to spend on pursuing her. Antonio has no liquid assets at that moment so he secures a loan from Shylock - the one and original, but because of his racist remarks, Shylock forces him into a deal whereby Shylock will get neither money nor goods if Antonio defaults. Instead, he will get a pound of Antonio's flesh from around his heart! Bassanio correctly chooses the casket from three which Portia offers, only one of which contains her picture, and so gets her hand, but if it were that simple why does he need 3,000 ducats?! Anyway, Antonio's ships flounder and Shylock calls in his loan! Fortunately, Antonio is saved by the skin of his teeth when Portia and Nerissa in disguise as a male lawyer and 'his' clerk bale Antonio out.
Is this a blank page I see before me? Out, out damned text! I ran into a couple of issues with this advance review copy. The most serious of these was a problem - in two different downloads of this book - in that p82 (the last page of As You Like It), and also pps 98, 99 (in Much Ado About Nothing) were all completely blank - no text at all! I assume this will be fixed before the final copy is published. This was viewing the PDF format file in Bluefire Reader on an iPad.

Double, double, toil and trouble! The other issue was more of an annoyance in that the pages are presented as double-pages, meaning you have to tip your tablet over to landscape view to read them - and therefore at a smaller magnification than you'd be able to if they were presented as individual pages you could read in portrait view. To me this was an annoyance and a sign of yet another book being conceived as a print book and suffering for that in the ebook version. You definitely don't want to try reading this on your smart phone! Not smart!

Other than that I enjoyed these very much and I commend this collection as a worthy introduction for youngsters new to Shakespeare.

I don't like Shakespeare.

I chose to download A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories to see if it would make a good gift for my friend who has a degree specialising in Shakespeare, and had very little expectation of enjoying it much myself.

I can't put it down.

This book is simply stunning with just enough illustrations to add depth to the text without making it too focused on the illustrations, and the stories have been adapted in a way that really explains the original plays (which made no sense to me when I read them) and makes them enjoyable to read! I've loved every story in the book, and found that it was a lovely book to dip in and out of.

I can't recommend A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories highly enough as an introduction to Shakespeare or as a gift for someone who loves Shakespeare already! It's definitely one to be loved by all who read it, whether you're young or old.

I thought this book was so cute and I absolutely love this idea.

These are short versions of some of Shakespeare most popular plays. The writing is easy to understand, and the illustrations are bright and beautiful.

This book is a great way to introduce Shakespeare to children, and I think it is so important to make classic literature fun and engaging for children at a young age. If they already have an appreciation for the classics then by the time they are forced to read these stories in school, it wont seem so daunting and it wont seem so boring. It will be easier to understand because they already know the story.

So many kids don't read, and I worry it's because reading was never fun for them, it was always school work. We need to grow and nurture an appreciation for these masterpieces at a young age and having books like this will make that so much easier.

I will definitely pick up a copy of this book when it is released.

I give this book five stars, something that I do not do often. This is a wonderful Shakespearean compilation in prose form with bright and engaging illustrations. Included are twelve of the Bard's best known works, both tragedies and comedies. Each tale starts with a quote and a pictorial depiction of the main characters that quickly engage the reader. The stories are well told and surprisingly comprehensive. Elementary school children could read these stories on their own while they could be read aloud to younger children, much in the way that fairy tales are shared. As an adult, I also appreciated the clarity in the presentation of these tragedies and comedies. This book is a keeper! Thank you for this one NetGalley.

A brilliant introduction to Shakespeare for children, A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a collection of beautifully written summaries for Shakespeare's most popular works. Accompanied by vibrant and aesthetically pleasing illustrations, this collection can not only inform children about these great works, but also sparkle their curiosity and lead them to read extensively on the original works.

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a beautiful book that both adults and children will definitely love! Strongly recommended for all ages.

Love that this book makes Shakespeare accessible to all ages and I'm sure will spark an interest in literature. Even as an adult I found this book a great read and very true to the original tales.

I have always found that the language of Shakespeare is something that stops students from appreciating the plays. By having this collection written in an easy language, it makes for an ideal bedtime story or a starting guide for students to wrap their head around the plot before contemplating the language.

This kids book has some really beautiful art that lends itself to the stories being told. There is a various selection of Shakespeares work chosen and stryas true to the plays without being overbearing to children. This book is whimsical and I highly recommend it.

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories, by Angela McAllister, is a colorfully illustrated retelling of the bard's plays aimed at young readers. Using contemporary prose, it offers a creative way to introduce children and tweens to Shakespeare's famous works.

From Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet - to Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice and many in between, this collection includes both tragedies and comedies that students will learn about in their high school English or Drama classes. Each play retold here includes an opening quote from the bard himself, and a cast of characters, and is retold in six pages of prose. The contemporary style of writing will allow young readers to get a sense of their overarching plots, as well as brief descriptions of the players involved.

As a former English teacher who has also spent years on stage, including a few turns in the bard's plays - I will be quick to suggest A Stage Full of Shakespeare studies as a reference to introduce Shakespeare. That said, a contemporary retelling like this (even one done very well) - will never serve as a replacement for the plays themselves. Older students (tweens) should view this book along with some of Shakespeare's texts, so that they may also experience the rich poetic verse that they contain, and familiarize themselves with the shape of a play versus prose. Young readers should read these tales along with their families and caregivers, and perhaps attend a Shakespeare play for young viewers afterwards.

In a world where we have so many options for reading, listening, and watching everything around us - a book like this one can only serve to widen the scope of our understanding of human experience, which is what Shakespeare did in droves. Along with his original texts, current productions of the plays and other Shakespearean-inspired works - A Stage Full of Shakespeare stands out as a creative resource for young students & readers.

At the heart of Shakespeare's crafted and poetic prose (translation: hard to understand fully with our modern ears) are deeply human stories. They shouldn't be off limits just because they take background knowledge and practice to understand in their original form. And now they're not!

This is a delightful anthology of Shakespeare's greatest plays, written in a more comprehensible language and format for ages five and up to enjoy. There are many ways I could see this working: a read aloud at home or in the classroom for younger readers, a read aloud or study text for students who are about to undertake the original Shakespeare text and need to build background knowledge, or a text for reader's theatre. While it is not in script form, as long as all actors have access to the text, they can follow along and read their dialogue parts after the narrator's turn.

Great works of literature should be enjoyed. This doesn't "dumb it down," it makes it comprehensible to readers who don't currently have the background knowledge to understand the original text. This work still uses high level syntax and vocabulary; it certainly maintained quality while putting it at a more accessible level.

I would recommend this as a teacher, a mom, and an English major! Also, the artist in me enjoyed the illustrations.

Beautifully illustrated and really nice retellings, simple without missing too many of the details. A fantastic first introduction to the stories every child should know. Perfect.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully illustrated, easy to read modern adaptation of 12 of Shakespeare's work.

This includes:
❁ Macbeth,
❁ Romeo & Juliet,
❁ Hamlet,
❁ A Midsummer Night's Dream,
❁ The Tempest,
❁ Twelfth Night,
❁ Othello,
❁ As You Like It
❁ Julius Ceasar
❁ Much Ado About Nothing
❁ King Lear, &
❁ The Merchant of Venice.

I'm not going to review Shakespeare's work; I don't have a broad enough vocabulary for that, but I can appreciate this updated version which is in today's English but still relays the ol' Shakespearean spirit.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

A great way to have an intermediate introduction to Shakespeare, more accessible text, but much more of the story is present than in picture book adaptations. I’ve seen the physical copy and the binding and printing is lovely. It’s a really nice book.

The first time I ever appeared in a Shakespeare production (a double bill of Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) I was eight, and by the time I was eleven I’d been made to read full Shakespeare plays to prepare for performances. I’m not sure how much of it I actually understood at the time, but I’m happy to see so many “Shakespeare for younger readers” titles coming out these days!
A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is another good addition to the genre, and the illustrations are atmospheric and help to bring the stories alive.
Recommended as an introduction to The Bard’s work for younger readers.

What a beautiful children's book! A great way to introduce kids to the works of Shakespeare!

The stories are all very richly illustrated and each one has a great introduction page, showing and explaining who the various characters are, as well as presenting the young reader with a well-chosen quote from each story. I loved it!

The author did a great job at simplifying the stories enough so that children can easily understand them, at the same time staying true to Shakespeare's voice, especially in the dialogues. I also liked that she alternated the heavier dramatic plays with the lighter and more romantic comedies.

The illustrations are gorgeous and colorful. I love the different techniques the designer used to color in the drawings. Sometimes they look like they were painted in with broad brushstrokes and other times we get a kind of 3d effect with leaves or other small decorative elements seemingly being cut out of paper and pasted on top of the artwork. There's so much to discover in them!

To successfully introduce children, young adults and even adults to the works of Shakespeare is not perhaps the easiest of tasks. With all that deception, subterfuge, mistaken identity, false identity and gender changing that takes place it can be to the uninitiated somewhat confusing. I remember in my youth going with the school to an open air production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and being baffled as to what was going on.

One way to gain accessibility and a sense of coherence is to provide a succinct summary of the plot from which foundations it is then possible to build on. This anthology consists of the following plays which comprise a mix of Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies but omits the histories

Included here are
Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Othello, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear and The Merchant of Venice.

Each play is presented as a story including quotations from the original text rewritten in accessible language and is introduced by a cast list of the main characters. They are accompanied by lovely illustrations by artist Alice Lindstrom.

This book I think will provide an excellent accompaniment before studying the original text or attending a play. Shakespeare's plays may at first sight seem quite daunting and the greatest stumbling block for many people when it comes to understanding Shakespeare is the language but having an appreciation of the plot, themes and characters involved will undoubtedly assist and this book by Angela McAllister certainly helps in providing a accessible entry into Shakespeare's wonderful works.

Shakespeare non è un classico: è prima di tutto una miniera di storie, personaggi, vicende, modi di dire entrati  far parte del patrimonio culturale occidentale e non.

Lo ricorda questo bel volume, che con racconti brevi e brillanti e illustrazioni coloratissime introduce i bambini al multiforme, variabile mondo del genio inglese.

Fate e folletti, maghi e principi, innamorati felici, innamorati infelici, asini, streghe, fantasmi, tradimenti, figlie devote, re pazzi, principi dubbiosi si susseguono in queste pagine, in un rutilare di avventure comiche e tragiche che può solo incuriosire i più piccoli, e prepararli a conoscere gli originali in futuro.

Beautifully adapted! Each short story comes with wonderful and whimsical illustrations that open Shakespearean literature to a whole new generation.

This book should be required reading for junior high students. It would be so helpful to understanding the actual Shakespeare books. It tells the tales of 12 famous Shakespeare books and are written in easy readable English with some nice pictures. I was never a big fan of Shakespeare and as I read this book it became clear that the actual books are pretty good with this background. Good for adults also that want to broaden their classic levels but were afraid to try. Wonderful gift for young and older readers. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy! This is a perfect easy introduction to some of Shakespeare's best known and loved plays. McAllister pulled just the right amount from each story to make it fun and accessible!

This is a beautiful book. Written well in a way that can be understood readily but keeps the tone of Shakespeare alive. Easily readable by children and young people and that beautiful illustrations help to bring the stories alive.

I wish this has been around when I was younger!

Beautiful introduction to Shakespeare's stories. Accessible and especially good for reading aloud to children!

This book makes Shakespeare accessible to younger readers. I love that! I have a couple editions of Shakespeare for kids and was so glad to receive a review copy of this edition as well. I promptly purchased a copy for my library at home. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

As a big shakespeare fan I'm very excited that this came out. I like how it simplifies some of Shakespeares popular plays and is a variety of plays as well. The illustrations are beautiful and it is a good way to introduce children to classics in a fun and exciting new way.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister. I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm so glad that I received an ARC for A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories. For some time now I've wanted to read Shakespeare's work but was always held back due to the difficult language. This is a brilliant introduction to some of Shakespeare's work, the tone is more simple and understandable for a younger audience. Something I admire about this book is that it doesn't shy away from the original topics as murder, betrayal and death, as one might do while writing for a younger audience.

While I was familiar with a few stories, like Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing, and found those most enjoyable, I also enjoyed getting to discover some new ones for me like Othello and Twelfth Night.

If you haven't read any Shakespeare yet, found the originals plays difficult to read or if you absolutely love Shakespeare, then I highly recommend A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllistar. Oh and by the way.... the illustrations by Alice Lindstrom are simply beautiful!

Angela McAllister provides an accessible, approachable Shakespeare for younger audiences and for all those who stayed away from the bard for any number of reasons. She writes in straight-forward, clear, contemporary English that make it easy to understand for the intended target audience of 7 – 10 year olds (and even older!).

The plays start off with a quote from the bard accompanied by a cover-page illustration for the play. A pictorial depiction of the main characters that includes a briefest of introductions to them follows and the story itself takes about six pages to tell. Each story is accompanied by about four to five vibrant, collage-style illustrations that capture the feel of the story perfectly (and lend to the tale by doing so).a stage full of shakespeare stories as you like it

What I loved:
The variety of tales included in the book – the book includes my favorite tale – Twelfth Night, as well as stories like Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing among others.
The essence of each story retained in this version for kids without glossing over the harsher events that occur, and within six pages!
The inclusion of original lines in betwixt the text seamlessly, like, in the ‘Twelfth Night’ – ‘If music be the food of love, play on’


The fact that it proves its point – being accessible for the younger audiences – so well. My tween dd attested to this fact!
It also includes sections with information about Shakespeare and a brief introduction to the plays included in the book, as well as a complete play list, which make for informational and fun reading.
The gorgeous illustrations – I loved the color, the collage-style work, and am sure that younger audiences will truly enjoy this artwork. It seems like just the right amount of illustrations for this age-group making a transition from picture books to chapter books.
In Summary:
While the beauty of the bard’s original works is lost in a simplified version such as this, the book provides the magic of his plots and the introduction to what could be when young readers read the bard himself. This will make a great gift to all of those who love to read, to those who are reluctant to read Shakespeare, and also to those who love Shakespeare, and also to introduce the bard to just about any and all audiences (young and old)!

Rating: A
Reading Level: 6+
Reread Level: 4/5

Disclaimer: Thank You #NetGalley for the DRC of this book; a physical copy of which will be making its way into my home library soon!. The opinions are my own.

A beautifully illustrated book and great telling of Shakespeare's plays. This is a great introduction for younger readers, or readers of all ages, in to Shakespeare's world. As a lover of Shakespeare, sometimes it's hard to get lost in the language when you're trying to decipher just what exactly was said. This edition brings to life those key moments in each story. I enjoyed the added history snippet at the end too, giving more color around each play for readers.

Good Ol’ Will might have been less intimidating to a scaredy first-year English lit student if there’d had been books such as this one laying around while growing up. That student may or may not have been me.

Studying English as a second language in my country does not involve learning about the contexts of the English literary tradition. It’s mostly based on grammar, vocabulary, and communications skills. And I think that is a shame. Majoring in English was a totally different matter, even so, that first semester of Shakespeare readings and exams was… well, a midwinter nightmare!

I’ve been teaching English for many years now and, most of the times, with my younger, more enthusiast pupils I do it by way of stories, and so here is where books like “A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories” come in handy.

I was expecting the author to have adapted into prose form only the fun, lighter plays of The Bard of Avon, such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “As You Like It,” or “The Tempest,” but no, this collection includes tragedies as well: “King Lear,” “Macbeth,” and even “Julius Caesar.” I think the point of this book is to acquaint young readers with Shakespeare’s tricky plots and diverse characters.

Alice Lindstrom’s illustrations are vibrant and truly delightful. At the beginning of each story, there is a decorated title page with a quote from Shakespeare’s corresponding play, followed by one with portraits of the cast of characters. Then there are up to four or five astonishing page-filling illustrations portraying significant moments in the stories. They might seem rather puerile, almost caricatural to our critical, grown-up eyes, but I am sure the children will find them highly amusing!

Angela McAllister’s book makes for an amazing conversation starter, as the author didn’t gloss over murders, scheming, and betrayals. This is without a doubt a perfect introduction to the works of a literary genius: they can be read aloud in class to the students or even have them read the stories in role play activities, with the teacher as narrator. In your home library, the cover alone will make children and adults alike pick this one up and flip through its colourful pages!

*Thanks to NetGalley & Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is worth purchasing for the beautiful illustrations alone, yet the book is so much more than the art. The book contains twelve Shakespeare plays, a mix of tragedies (e.g., Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth) and comedies (e.g., As You Like It and Much Ado about Nothing). These are written for children aged five and up but contain quotes from the original plays including many of the most famous lines, and is a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the world of Shakespeare. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve only read the Shakespeare assigned in high school and college and only seen a handful of his plays performed live, so reading these stories allowed me to acquaint myself with the basic plot and characters of some of his most famous work.

A benefit of having brief versions of a range of Shakespeare’s plays is that it’s possible to see easily the recurring themes--jealousy, betrayal--and devices--mistaken identity, crossdressing, manipulation-- he used. Freed from the stress of reading SHAKESPEARE, I enjoyed the stories more and saw the humor more clearly.

The design of the book is phenomenal. Each story begins with a double page spread, the left side with a quote from the play, the right side with a title page beautifully illustrated. Most of the colors used are deep jewel tones, though each story seems to have a uniquely themed hue. On the next page appears a cast of characters and a brief explanation of their position or key family relationships. My only complaint is that the text is small and dense, though that may be an artifact of my aging eyes rather than an objective issue.

This book makes Shakespeare fun for young and old readers alike, and I highly recommend it for your library!

The Bard for kids.
Each play gets a title page, with a famous quote and a mishmash of artwork that shows some of the important points. That’s followed by a small cast of characters, and finally an illustrated text that boils the story down to its essential elements, just enough to know what’s going on.
The easiest way to describe this for Bard buffs is that it’s similar to the Lambs’ book of synopses, only for children. And it’s illustrated like a kiddie version of the Canterbury Tales.
The illustrations are more basic than the words.
The Tempest and Twelfth Night were my faves here.
Not all the plays are here, but that’s no surprise; only twelve, mostly the famous ones.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister breaks down twelve of the Bard's most well-known plays- from Macbeth to Much Ado About Nothing- into stories middle-grade readers can appreciate. Distilling the essence and downplaying inherent violence, these tales are reimagined for a younger audience. I think this is a perfect way to introduce these timeless tales at an earlier age. My older cubs really enjoyed reading them, and the youngest enjoyed the artwork :) This would make a great classroom book, and the perfect addition to children's libraries.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories, by Angela McAllister, is a colorfully illustrated retelling of Shakespeare's plays aimed at young readers. Using contemporary prose, it offers a creative way to introduce children and tweens to Shakespeare's famous works. The blurb about this book says it can be enjoyed by children 5 and up, but I am recommending this one for middle grades and up (10 to 14). It includes a variety of his plays, both comedies and tragedies. Some are extremely well known (Romeo and Juliet) and others not as much (Much Ado About Nothing). There were several plays that I had to read in high school English and this would have been a nice supplement to the old English prose. Each retelling includes an opening quote from the bard himself, and a cast of characters, and consists of about 6 pages of prose. This retelling will get the main plot across as well as who the characters are.

That said, a contemporary retelling like this (even one done very well) - will never serve as a replacement for the plays themselves. This would make a great introduction to one of the plays and then the reader, their family, or a class could attend the play that is performed with young viewers in mind. I ended up enjoying this collection. My two favourites, MacBeth and King Lear were both represented. Even though the target audience is children, the author does not beat around the bush with any of the principal themes in these plays. The character's motives and personalities come across clear as day. The layout is eye-catching and the illustrations are unique and add much to the understanding of the story. This would make a great addition to an elementary school library. The publisher, Lincoln Children's Books, generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

As an English Literature major with a subject in Shakespeare, I find this collection lovely. It makes reading Shakespeare easy and enjoyable for everyone, and I would have loved this as a child.

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.)

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories features 12 of Shakespeare most famous plays: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Othello, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice. Each play is rewritten so they formed a story in a modern language, with some original quotations thrown here and there.

While it seems like it was a children’s books with its vibrant illustrations, I think it’s actually perfect for all ages. The writing and original quotations blend seamlessly and the stories did not lose its essence. However, some parts may lose its cohesiveness and felt rushed, for example, in King Lear I had to wikipedia’d the whole story as the one in this book ends very abruptly.

The illustrations are very nice too, they are cute and vibrant when needed, but can also be gloomy in tragic moments- which, since this is a Shakespeare book, is a lot. They really give life to the stories and characters. And I love how at the end of this book there are some biography about Bard and small summary/background of each featured plays.

A great introduction to Shakespeare for younger child. Short condensed stories that put Shakespeare in a language kids can understand.

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories is a book containing summaries of many of the stories written by Shakespeare. The book is aimed at young kids, with beautiful illustrations and a list of characters at the beginning of every story.

I enjoyed the way the stories are told and the illustrations. The stories are a couple of pages long each, which in my opinion makes them good bed-time stories. I hadn't read most of them so I had some fun :-)

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book.

I ended up loving this collection more than I had expected! I've read only a fair share of Shakespeare's plays in abridged form and even less in their original form because it's always harder and more time consuming to grasp the situations in Shakespearean English. But the adaptation of stories in this book is delightful but also straight forward. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading Shakespeare this much! Even though the target audience for this volume is clearly younger, the author does not beat around the bush with any of the principal themes in these plays. The character's motives and personalities come across clear as day. The layout is eye-catching and the illustrations are unique and very well complimenting. I loved the little portion at the end which gave a little background history on all the plays included!

A book that I believe can be enjoyed by adolescents and adults alike.

Rating: 5/5 stars

I always want to try reading the unabridged Shakespeare's play but because they were written in Early Modern English, it is hard to comprehend the story. Hence, I always end up never finishing any of his works. I tried reading Hamlet when I was in college because we are required to perform any of Shakespeare's play, but we weren't able to re-enact it well and we were even scolded by our professor because of it. If only this was available during that time, perhaps our lives could have been easier and we might have produced a better result.

Several years after, I finally got to read some of Shakespeare's works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet in comic book format. Therefore, I finally understand them because of how they were written and published in modern form. And now, I found this marvelous book that I know will be appreciated not only by young children but also of students who are still in high school and in college. Generation Y, young adults, or millennials like me and even older readers will also get enchanted by this magnificent children's book.

This book is absolutely incredible. The stories are elegant, but concise - made easy for children to understand. The illustrations are rich, beautiful and eye-catching and I loved the introduction page to each of the twelve stories. With each introduction there was an explanation as to who the characters were and a quote from the story. I think this would make a fantastic gift especially for a young reader.

This is a very child friendly book about the writing of Shakespeare. When I was in secondary school, we studied one his plays for a whole year, all written I old English - and it was fabulous but a bit of a challenge at times.
This book brings the plays of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, Midsummers Night Dream, Othello, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear and The Merchant of Venice within the sphere of young people.
Easy to read in simple language, beautifully illustrated and with some explanation, this book brings a mixture of the tragedies and comedies to both young and old in a language that is easy to read.

This was a fun edition to add to our homeschool's Shakespeare study. The book included all of the greats but in a way that the children could understand so they could appreciate the writing. The illustrations added to the fun as well. I hope there will be more great works written in this form.

Thank you NetGalley and Angela McAllister for the opportunity yo read this as an advanced copy. I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and a positive review was not required.

I truly enjoyed "A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories." Twelve plays, six comedies and six tragedies, are chosen in this collection among the many great works written by Shakespeare. This book is an awesome way to introduce the legendary playwright to young readers. Text are nicely written and the stories are adorned with beautiful artworks.

The author includes a brief biography of Shakespeare at the end of the book together with a list of completed works by him as well as short introductions to the twelve plays chosen for the book. While the stories themselves are more for retelling the famous tales, the themes of each play aren't obvious enough by simply reading the stories. The brief intro helps to pinpoint the basic themes of each play loud and clear which I really appreciate. Overall, a wonderful book for children and parents to read together.

Perfect book for youth or those that never really got Shakespeare stories in before. This is a great book -- you'll enjoy the stories and understand them. It is wonderfully done. You will not lose the greatness of Shakespeare -- but instead you will get all the greatness as well as the understanding. It is not only well written, but the illustrations are perfect as well.

This is a wonderful introduction to Shakespeare for older kids. The stories themselves are clearly written and perfect for a bedtime story. Maybe stick with the comedies like Midsummer's Night Dream rather than Othello if that's your plan. The art is very Eric Carle-esque with painted paper cutouts. A cute gift-able book. Very little of the iambic verse is here, better for children to grasp but would be a pass for teens who need a bit more in-depth look at Shakespeare. It's a lovely book but might not fly off of library shelves that have and need the original text for students. Buy it for the Shakespeare fan in your life.

This was a really great way to introduce children to the bard. I will probably be buying a copy for my kids.

what a brilliant book
amazing illustrations and great information. i showed my 8 year old how is constantly Reading it now and sharing all the book information with her friends
amazing book