Hamlet For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun!) Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Perhaps the best-known of Shakespeare's tragedies, Hamlet has all the ingredients for a gripping story: revenge and power, familial love and betrayal, dramatic sword fights, dark spooky scenes. Once again Lois Burdett has woven her own brand of magic by transforming Shakespeare's complex verse into rhyming couplets. She has created a version of Hamlet especially for children, even as young as seven, and one that readers of all ages will enjoy. At the appropriately named Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario, where Burdett has taught for over 20 years, her students have created wonderful drawings of Hamlet to illustrate Burdett's fluid rhymes. The students' interpretations are vivid evidence of Burdett's clever ability to bring Shakespeare's complex characters and intricate plots to life for young people.
Age Range: 7 - 10 years
Series: Shakespeare Can Be Fun!
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Firefly Books; English Language edition (March 4, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1552095304
ISBN-13: 978-1552095300
Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #136,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #24 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Music & Photography > Performing Arts > Drama & Theater #270 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Shakespeare > Works #1208 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays
I teach third grade in an urban school in a very large district and have used Burdett's version of Hamlet as my sole reading program component for the last 2 months. My students have showed more growth in comprehension, vocabulary, writitng skills and public speaking, than I have ever seen with any other class. Not only has their work showed such growth, but their passion for reading has flourished unbelievably. My class ranges from d's to average b's to high honor roll and every child has grown and every child now loves Shakespeare. The wording that Burdett uses is enjoyable and comprehendable yet challenging enough to keep the educational bar raised without compromising the accuracy and intent of Shakespeare's original version. Burdett also incorporates written material and illustrations by students in her second grade class. This helps the children in my class relate to the book even more. They have developed a thirst for Shakespeare that I enjoy trying to quench everyday. Every child is quoting Shakespeare and reciting soliloquys, and I credit much of that to Burdett and her brilliant writing. I loved this book so much that I have personally purchased her entire series and have displayed them all in my classroom. These books are checked out by students in my class everday. They are by far the most frequently read books in my class. She has truly brought Shakespeare back to life in the classroom and on behalf of my students and myself as well, I thank her. Classic literature is back!!!!!
Teaching Shakespeare to children has been a challenge until I found this series. Hamlet for Kids was the first book I read and I found it completely entertaining. As a home educator, I also found these works very inspiring. Burdett has found a way to use Shakespeare to help elementary school students in their reading comprehension and writing skills. The text is written in couplets, and contains the more famous lines from Shakespeare. The writings and illustrations by 3rd and 4th graders are entertaining and helpful. I wrote the author to get permission to do a stage performance of her work and received a prompt, personal reply with many helpful suggestions. This author is amazing and truly dedicated to helping children. My children love to read these books. This series is one of my top five favorite picks for an educational resource.
This was the perfect text to get my 10-year old reading Shakespeare! She's a bright girl, but I thought the "real" text of Hamlet might be a bit burdensome, so when I saw this book, I bought it right away. She loved it! Not only did she understand it, she liked reading it.Yay, Lois Burdett!!!!! Applause! (can you hear it??)
It's true, these books gave my son a lifelong love of Shakespeare! They are wonderufl for adults too.. looking to understand and have fun with the main message in each passage. They really deserve a high spot in the literary world.
I used this to prepare my 9 year old son to see his first Shakespeare play (Simulcast Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch). We read it 2-3 times and it was a WONDERFUL preparation for the real play. He followed the play perfectly and loved it. It really helped instill a love for the Bard. I highly recommend it! Follow up reading it with words from the real play and then a trip to the theatre.
My 10-year-old son reluctantly read Hamlet for Kids with me for one of his weekly writing assignments. He griped about it, but I think he actually enjoyed reading it. He wanted to see part of Branagh's Hamlet movie with me later, and even stuck around while I found several key parts that I had already passed.The rhyming is so clever, and perfectly tells the story! It is very understandable for younger students, but uses excellent vocabulary words. I love the notes written by the students that are from the point of view of the character. They seemed to drive home what was really going on in case my son hadn't completely understood it when reading the rhyming text.I plan to read another one with him in 2 months or so! (I plan to read ALL of them myself!)
This series is wonderful to use in classrooms as a supplement for students with special needs. I use it at the high school level when including students with intellectual disablitites in the regular curriculum. It also serves as a fun review for the entire class!
Love it!!! This helps make this story so reachable for kids, even my 3 yr old loves the sing song rhyming. The illustrations are inspiring for my guys to show them, they too can draw. Can't praise this book enough and I'm excited to collect her other books.
Hamlet For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun!) The Shakespeare Stealer Series: The Shakespeare Stealer / Shakespeare's Scribe / Shakespeare's Spy A Child's Portrait of Shakespeare (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) Hamlet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels) Hamlet (No Fear Shakespeare) Hamlet: Revised Edition (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series) CliffsComplete Shakespeare's Hamlet Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet Hamlet (Signet Classic Shakespeare) Hamlet: The Arkangel Shakespeare Hamlet: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition (Folger Shakespeare Library Presents) Hamlet (Arkangel Shakespeare) Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Tragedies: Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet Hamlet (Cambridge School Shakespeare) Shakespeare Made Easy - Hamlet 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) 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) A Midsummer Night's Dream for Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun!) Romeo and Juliet for Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun!) Twelfth Night : For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series)
