Age Range: 7 - 10 years
Series: Shakespeare Can Be Fun!
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Firefly Books (September 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0887532799
ISBN-13: 978-0887532795
Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 7.8 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #91,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #16 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Music & Photography > Performing Arts > Drama & Theater #179 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Shakespeare > Works #768 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays
What a wonderful way to introduce Shakespeare to children! I used this book as a third grade teacher to teach inner city kids about Macbeth. It was amazing to hear the students discussing all of the characters and their actions. They were proud of themselves for learning about Shakespeare "like high school kids." If you make it fun, they will have fun!
I am a third grade teacher on Long Island. Last year I introduced three of Willaim Shakespeare's plays into our classroom. My children loved Macbeth. We studied Macbeth, The Tempest and Hamlet. The way Mrs. Burdett wrote in rhyming couplets really made the reading enjoyable! I plan on using her books throughout my teaching career. Thank you Lois Burdett! Shakespeare can be fun thanks to you.-Michael Hynes
Hello, my name is Shannon, and I have a Shakespeare comprehension problem. I cannot elicit any meaning out of "thither he in and me within," or "wherefore art thou," so when my AP lit class delved into MacBeth, I was already waving the white flag. Then my mom pulls out this book we picked up at Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. She tells me a teacher wrote a poem about MacBeth for 2nd graders to understand--she had her 2nd grade class draw the pictures in them. Okay, I need all the help I can get, so I acquiesce. And this book is incredible. The poem is fiercely creative and original, the drawings are such a hoot, and I am understanding the entire play to the point that I am acing quizzes and writing high reviews on for MacBeth (as I'm doing now). Some people may be recommending this for tiny tots getting into Big Will. I'm calling out to all HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO WANT A LITTLE HELP!!! Get this book. Trust me.
I have 2 sons, ages 9 and 11, and they both love Lois Burdett's Shakespeare books! These books make the story lines accessible while providing the flavor of Shakespeare through the wonderful rhyming couplets. I first used one of these books to "preview" the story of MacBeth to my younger son, who was going to be in a children's musical production of the story. He loved the book and often asks me to reread it to him, and we have since acquired several other of the Burdett titles. My sons also enjoy the whimsical illustrations and sidebars done by the children.
This book does a great job of telling the story of MacBeth in a kid-friendly way. There is still need for some explanation, as I am using it with a 2nd grade level student, but it is typically due to vocabulary. My child enjoys the kid-drawn illustrations. However, I rate this book rather low because of the kid-written summaries on every or every-other page. Throughout the book these summaries contain gross misspellings. They are so bad. While phonetic spelling might be acceptable in a classroom setting in some models of education, this is published material. The misspellings are so bad that my child and I both had a hard time figuring out what some of the words were supposed to be.
Brilliant idea, wonderful edition.Lois Burdett did a wonderful job of retelling Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies for what they really are - wonderful stories. The language of these adapted plays is perfect; it has magic of Shakespeare's words, but is easy to comprehend by young readers. The children's drawings to Shakespeare's plays are used as books' illustrations. In contrast to many "half-academic" adapted versions for teens, the "Shakespeare could be fun" series are printed on a good paper, and include a lot of illustrations and children's comments to the play. The total effect is exactly the desired one: kids are not intimidated by the name of Shakespeare, they are interested and motivated to read further.In our case, we bought the "Macbeth" after my daughter (10 years old) asked me whether it's really a "cursed play", and could I buy the play for her to read. Mumbling "there must be some adapted version for you" I run to the bookstore, trying to find something before her interest faded and thankfully found this book. She loved it and asked to read "Romeo and Julia"...In less than three months, we ended up buying all the books in the series!Even better, my daughter tried to move to the next level and to read one of the plays in the next level of adaptation ("teen version"). It didn't go well, admittedly, but thanks to Lois Burdett, she feels encouraged - and interested.Great book! Great series!
This is a very cute book, broken down in a way that children can understand it. I found this to be an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for my 3 year old (who is just starting to appreciate books), as I hope that he will become a fan of Shakespeare as he gets older. There are also illustrations made by children to go along with the story, and my son LOVES looking at the work by children...more so than the lovely illustrations found in his other books. I would highly recommend this as a gift for any child, or an addition to a child's library (or preschool's library) if you want the child exposed to Shakespeare in a manner they can appreciate.
Often times, by the time a kid is old enough to tackle Shakespeare (in high school usually) he or she has already been exposed so thoroughly to the idea that "Shakespeare is hard" that it's a drudgery before they even begin. These books help parents and teachers head off that attitude and show them how interesting and fun Shakespeare is before they have a chance to develop a negative attitude.We have both "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Macbeth" and I have to give a very sincere BRAVO for these books! My third grader enjoyed both books thoroughly, and I am tickled pink that she's now intrigued by Shakespeare and asking to read more of his "stories." Thank you Ms. Burdett!
MacBeth : For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) The Shakespeare Stealer Series: The Shakespeare Stealer / Shakespeare's Scribe / Shakespeare's Spy Twenty Shakespeare Children's Stories - The Complete 20 Books Boxed Collection: The Winters Take, Macbeth, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo ... and More (A Shakespeare Children's Story) Macbeth (No Fear Shakespeare) 2003 Edition by Shakespeare, William published by SparkNotes (2003) Paperback Shakespeare's Macbeth for Kids: 3 Short Melodramatic Plays for 3 Group Sizes (Playing with Plays) A Child's Portrait of Shakespeare (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) Macbeth: Sixty-Minute Shakespeare Series Books For Kids: The Misadventures of Mischievous Missy (KIDS ADVENTURE BOOKS #9) (Kids Books, Children Books, Kids Stories, Kids Adventure, Kids Fantasy, Mystery, Series Books Kids Ages 4-6 6-8 9-12) Macbeth (No Fear Shakespeare) CliffsNotes on Shakespeare's Macbeth (Cliffsnotes Literature) Manga Shakespeare: Macbeth Macbeth (New Cambridge Shakespeare (Naxos Audio)) Macbeth (Arkangel Shakespeare) Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Tragedies: Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet Macbeth: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition (Folger Shakespeare Library Presents) Macbeth (Arkangel Complete Shakespeare) Macbeth (Cambridge School Shakespeare) Books for Kids: Chompy the Shark (Bedtime Stories For Kids Ages 4-8): Short Stories for Kids, Kids Books, Bedtime Stories For Kids, Children Books, Early ... (Fun Time Series for Early Readers Book 2) Twelfth Night : For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) A Midsummer Night's Dream for Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun!)