CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS Upper elementary school through high school

The Bard's Still the ThingShakespeare for Young ReadersHelp make Shakespeare accessible with these recent novels, picture-book andgraphic-novel adaptations, and more. By Edward T. Sullivan

R eading Shakespeare in juniorhigh and high school is aneducational rire of passage.

Many students look forward to theexperience, but many more dreadit. Shakespeare's Elizabethan iambicpentameter is daunting and in-timidating to many a contemporaryreader. Unfortunately, readers who.struggle with just understanding thelanguage will never appreciate allthat makes Shakespeare's plays great,enduring works of art—the bawdyjokes, the clever puns, the heroicbatrles and sword fights, the ghostsand witches, or the tragic, romantic,and magical plots that are echoedagain and again in literature, televi-sion shows, motion pictures, andcontemporary plays.

Equally intimidating is thecultural position to which the Bardhas been elevated. Shakespeare is toliterarure what Einstein is to scienceor Mozart is to music: an iconic,transcendent genius of unmatchahlesuperhuman ability. The impressionmade is rhat Shakespeare can onlyhe appreciated by highly intelligent,sophisticated readers. What is oftenforgotten is that Shakespeare wrotefor audiences of his rime that werelargely uneducated and illiterate.Shakespeare was an artist, but he wasalso an entertainer and a business-man. He wanted his stones to appealto the masses.

Fortunately there is an abundant

body of work written for youngpeople rhat helps make Shakespearemore accessible. For readers of allages, there are picture-book ad-aptations that capture the essenceof the plays: these are excellent

introductions for readers too youngto tackle the original works. Thereare also novels offering intriguingperspectives on the plays; studentscan read these as introductions orsupplements to the plays. Novels and

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Part of the Classical Comics Shakespeare series, tfiis Quick Text version of Shakespeare'sMacbeth, retold by John McDonald and illustrated by Jon Haward, retains all tíie punch ofthe original.

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picture books featuring Shakespeareas a character are another meansof introducing readers to the Bardand his works and offer a greatdeal of historical insight into theElizabetban period.

Among the most notable recentdevelopments are graphic-novel ad-aptations of the major plays, whichremain completely true to the origi-nals in language and setting or offerclever reinventions with contempo-rary or futuristic settings, abridgedtexts, or "translations" of the playinto "plain," contemporary English.Several publishers have launched se-ries of these graphic adaptations thatinclude longtime standards of theEnglish curriculum, such as Hamlet.,Macbeth, A Midsummer Night'sDream, and Ro?neo and Juliet, aswell as plays not typically taught inthe classroom, such as King Lear andTlje Tempest. These visual representa-tions of the plays are the next bestthing to seeing them performed.Struggling readers and those intimi-dated by Shakespeares language willfind these graphic novels accessiblealternatives.

Ihe more accessible Shakespeareis, the better students will under-stand and appreciate his work.Shakespeare is the most quotedauthor in the English language, andhis plots and themes can be foundthroughout contemporary popularculture. The more students knowabout Shakespeare, the more cultur-ally literate they will be.

Adaptations

The Best-Loved Plays of Shakespeare. ByJennifer Mulherin and Abigail Erost.2000. 160p. Star Bright, $24.95(9781887734622).

Gr. 5—8. This illustrated collectionof 10 plays told as stories includesThe Merchant of Venice, As You LikeTt, Twelfih Night, Romeo and Juliet,Julius Caesar, and Othello. An intro-ductory chapter covers Shakespeare'slife, and each story features boxedquotations from the play and anappending roundup ot the play'scharacters, complete with descrip-tions of their individual attributesand motivations.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. ByWilliam Shakespeare. Retold byMichael Rosen. lllus. by Jane Ray.2004. 80p. Candlewick, $17.99(9780763622589).

Gr. 5-9. Weaving together piecesof Shakespeare's text with commen-tary and theatrical illustrations, thispicture book makes the drama of thestar-crossed lovers accessible with-out sacrificing the eloquence of theoriginal play. References and a glos-sary appear on each spread, and Ray'sbright watercolors capture the originalsixteentb-century Italian setting.

Tales Jrom Shakespeare. By TinaPacker, lllus. by Gail de Marckenand others. 2004. 192p. Scholastic,$24.95(9780439321075).

Gr. 5-8. The president and artistic

director of Shakespeare and Gompanyoffers wonderful retellings of 10 ofthe Bard's most famous comedies andtragedies, including/i MidsummerNight's Dream, Hamlet, Much Adoabout Nothing, King Lear, and As YouLike It. Packer also offers historicalbackground on the plays, and eachstory is accompanied by illustrationsfrom such award-winning artists asLeo and Diane Dillon, Barry Moser,Kadir Nelson, David Shannon, andMark Teague.

Winter Song: A Poem. By WilliamShakespeare. lllus. by MelanieHall. 2006. Wordsong, $15.95(9781590782750).

All ages. Hall interprets the poem"Winter Song" from Love's Labour's/,i)j/with vibrant mixed-media art-work. Alice Provensen's introductionand a short glossary will help youngerreaders understand Shakespeare'swords and meaning.

Graphic NovelsIndividual Titles

King Lear. By William Shakespeare.Retold and illus. by Gareth Hinds.2007. 128p. TheGomic.com, $30(9781893131071 ); paper, $ ] 5.95(9781893131064).

Gr. 9-12. In this outstandingabridged adaptation. Hinds usessplash pages that open up the set-tings, washes of ethereal colors, andgrotesquely expressive faces reminis-cent of the work of William Blake.

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The most effective parts of the bookare the dramatic ones, and mostmemorable are depictions of thegrisly eye-plucking scene, a super-naturally eerie storm scene, and twosword duels.

The Merchant of Venice: A Play.By William Shakespeare. Retoldand illus. by Gareth Hinds.2008. 80p. Gandlewick, $21.99(9780763630249); paper, $11.99(9780763630256).

Gr. 7-12. Hinds' adaptation isabridged, modernized, and recast in agraphic format with characters drawnfrom posed models, creating realistic,rough-around-the-edges figures. Thecareful use of color to signal scenechanges and page headings helpsreaders follow the action and referto the original play. An author's noteexplains Hinds' decision to modernizethe story.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth:The Graphic Novel. By WilliamShakespeare. Retold by Arthur ByronGover. Illus. by Tony Leonard Tiiniaiand Alex Niño. 2005. 176p. Puffin,paper, $9.99 (9780142404096).

Gr. 6-12. In this cleverre-imagining oîMacbeth as a spaceopera, Gover maintains much ofShakespeare's dialogue. 71ie black-and-white images are full of actionand energy, and faces are clear anddistinct. An appendix provides readerswith technical information on howthe art was created.

Series T/t/esGlassical Comics Shakespeare series.By William Shakespeare. Retold byJohn McDonald. Glassical GomicsLimited. Individual books, I44p.,paper, $16.95.

Gr. 6-10. Glassical Comics offersthree versions of its illustratedShakespeare titles: the original un-abridged text; the complete play witha plain, modern English translation ofthe dialogue; and a quick-text versioncontaining even more simplified text.All formats include extensive backmatter on the plays history and theplaywright. The series currently offersHenry K{2008), Macbeth (2008), andThe Tempest (2009), with more ofthe Bard's works in production. The

publisher's Web site (www.classicalcomics.com) offers aside-by-side comparison of the

three text versions and downloadablesample pages.

Graphic Shakespeare Library. ByWilliam Shakespeare. 1984; reis-sued 2006. Black Dog & Leventhal.Individual books, 96-l48p., paper,$12.95.

Gr. 9-12. The Graphic ShakespeareLibrary currently consists of two reis-sued titles from a larger British series.King Lear, illustrated by Ian Pollock,preserves every line of dialogue and isan invaluable aid to both veteran andpotential Shakespeare readers. Theunabridged Macbeth, illustrated byVon, has hundreds of bold picturesthat keep pace with the dialogue.

Manga Shakespeare series. ByWilliam Shakespeare. Retold byRichard Appignanesi. Amulet.Individual books, 204-208p., paper,$9.95-10.95.

Gr. 8-12. Manga meets the Bard.The classic plays get a fresh look inthese contemporary retellings. Theeight-title series features Othello(2009). Julius Gaesar (2009), Macbeth(2008), and Romeo and Juliet (2007).as well as the lesser known As You LikeIt (2009) and A Midsummer Night'sDream (2008).

Novels based on the PlaysAriel By Grace Tiffeny. 2005. 240p.HarperCoilins/Balzer & Bray, $17.89(9780060753283).

Gr. 9—12. This magical retellingof The Tempest is presented from thepoint of view of Ariel, the mischievousair spirit. Ihe story spans centuries,beginning with Ariel's birth and end-ing with the arrival of ChristopherColumbus in the New World. In be-tween, readers meet Caliban, Prospero,Miranda, Antonio, Alonso, Gonzalo,and Ferdinand. Wliile the play's storyline and theme remain the same.Tiffany alters some details to reveal thfmotives behind characters' actions.

Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story. ByLisa Fiedler. 2002. 192p. Holt,$17.95(9780805070545).

Gr. 9-12. Ophelia is transformedinto a strong, intelligent character inthis entertaining, feminist take on the

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tragedy as she struggles to find a wayto rescue her beloved Hamlet from hisdescent into madness. Fiedler takessome liberties with Shakespeare's story,liut readers familiar with the originalwill enjoy her inventive twists.

Enter Three Witches: A Story ofMacbeth. By Caroline B. Cooney.2007. 288p. Scholastic, $16.99(9780439711562); paper, $6.99(9780439711579).

Gr. 8-12. When the father of14-year-old Lady Mary, a ward ofLord and Lady Macbeth, betraysthe king and is hanged for treason,Mary loses her future. Instead ofmarriage to the son of a nobleman,she is banished to work as a maidand soon realizes that her life is alsoin danger. Cooney incorporatesdialogue from the play into the storyand comments on both the historicalMacbeth and Shakespeare's play inan authors note.

Joker. By Ranulfo. 2006. 208p.HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler, $15.99(9780060541583).

Gr. 9-12. Seventeen-year-old Mattt]uestions everything, including hissanity, following the death of hishcst friend, his parents' divorce, andhis mother's marriage to Claude. Aninner voice called "Joker" promptsMatt to avenge the injustices in hislife. Ranulfo follows the essential plotand themes of//AW/CÍ while keepingthe story's details in the twenty-firstcentury.

Ophelia. By Lisa KJein. 2006.336p. Bloomsbury $16.95(9781582348018); paper, $7.95(9781599902289).

Gr. 8-12. The romance betweenHamlet and Ophelia is expanded inthis retelling, with Ophelia narrat-ing as she witnesses tragedy unfold atFJsinore Castle. Klein deftly incorpo-rates dialogue from the play and keepsthe characters true to the originals.Tliis compelling reworking will appealto readers unfamiliar with the play.

Romeo's Ex: Rosaline's Story. By LisaFiedler. 2006. 256p. Holt. S16.95(9780805075007).

Gr. 7-12. Rosaline, Juliet's 16-year-old cousin, takes center stage in thisfast-paced story in which she falls inlove with Romeo's cousin Benvolio.As she did in Dating Hamlet (seeabove). Fielder takes many libertieswith the original story, but ihe cleverembellishments are interesting andentertaining.

Something Rotten: A HoratioWiIkes Mystery. By Alan M.Gratz. 2007. 208p. Dial, $16.99(9780803732162); Puffin, paper,$6.99(9780142412978).

Gr. 9-12. In this inventivereworking oï Hamlet, Horatio Wilkesably applies his sleuthing skills inthe tradition of film noir and pulpfiction detectives as he attempts tosolve the murder of the father ofhis best friend, Hamilton Prince, inDenmark, Tennessee. Wilkes returnsfor another mystery in the Macbeth-inspired novel Something Wicked(Dial, 2008).

More ShakespearePicture Books

Ihe Boy. the Bear, the Baron, theBard. By Gregory Rogers. 2004.32p. Roaring Brook, $16.95(9781596430099); paper, $7.95(9781596432673).

Gr. 2-5. Tliis wordless picturebook tells the story of a youngboy who bursts through a curtainof a deserted theater and finds him-self on stage at the Globe Theatrein Elizabethan London. When theboy interrupts a production, anangry Shakespeare chases himthrough the city streets. Also seethe companion book, Rogers'Midsummer Knight (Roaring Brook,2007). in which a caped bearstumbles into a world resembling v̂Midsummer Night's Dream and leadsa revolt against a nemesis resemblingthe Bard himself.

More on the BardTurn to p.37 for an interview withBruce Coville. autfior of several highlyregarded Shakespeare adaptations.

Will's Quill, or How a Goose SailedShakespeare. By Don Freeman. 1975;reissued 2004. 32p. Viking, $16.99(9780670036868).

K-Gr. 3. WiUoughby Waddle, acountry goose, sets off for Londonbut has a terrible, frightening tripuntil he encounters the kindlyyoung pla)'wright Will Shakespeare.Wiîloughby follows his new friend tothe Globe Theatre and ends up help-ing the young bard write some newplays. This fun, gentle story is illus-trated with lovely watercolors.

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Dangerous Times: The Eirst NathanFox Mission. By Lynn Brittney. 2008.288p. Feiwel & Friends. $16.95(9780312369620).

Gr. 5-8. After Nathan Fox isrecruited as a spy, he abandons his lifeas an actor but promises to recounthis adventures to his friend WillShakespeare, a young writer strug-gling to find good material. Afterrelendess training, Nathan is sent on amission to Venice, where he becomesembroiled in the drama playing outaround a charismatic general namedOthello and his wife, Desdemona.

Loving Will Shakespeare. By C^arolynMeyer. 2006. 265p. Harcourt. $17(9780152054510); paper, S6.95(9780152062217).

Gr. 7-12. In this first-personnarrative, readers follow the life ofShakespeare's wife. Anne Hathaway,from her childhood and youththrough her marriage, which becomesincreasingly unhappy as she battlesloneliness and feelings of abandon-ment. Meyer offers insight into every-day Elizabethan country life and thestatus of women of the period.

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Ihe Playmaker. ByJ. B. Cheaney.2000. 320p. Yearling, paper, $6.50(9780440417101).

Gr. 5-8. Recently orphaned14-year-old Richard Malory joinsShakespeare's theater company asan apprentice and discovers a con-spiracy against the queen in thisthrilling mystery that explores thepolitical and religious conflicts ofthe Elizabethan period. The vividperiod details and fast-paced actionwill keep readers engrossed. Also seeCheaney's IJje True Prince (Knopf,2002), another Shakespeare-inspiredElizabethan thriller.

Saving Juliet. By Suzanne Selfors.2008. 256p. Walker, S16.95(9780802797407); paper, $8.99(9780802798312).

Gr. 7-12. Seventeen-year-oldMimi Wallingford, a member ofafamous acting family, is afflicted withacute stage fright. When she is pres-sured into playing the starring role inher family's production oí Romeo andJuliet, she thinks things could notpossibly get any worse, but they dowhen she and her costar are magi-cally transported to Shakespeare'sVerona. Once there, Mimi decides togive the real Juliet a happy ending.

Shakespeare's Daughter. By PeterW. Hassinger. 2004. 320p.HarperCollins/Laura Geringer,$15.99(9780060284671).

Gr. 5—8. Weary of provincial,small-town life in Stratford-upon-Avon, Susanna Shakespeare yearns to

travel to London to see her father'sworld of players and poets and tofollow her own secret dream of sing-ing on the stage. Eor another view ofShakespeare's life and times throughthe eyes of the playwrights daughter,see Swan Town: Ihe Secret Journal ofSusanna Shakespeare by Michael J.Ortiz (HarperCollins, 2006).

Shakespeare's Secret. By EliseBroach. 2005. 256p. Holt, $16.95(9780805073874); Square Fish,paper, S5.99 (9780312371326).Also available in an audio editionfrom Recorded Books.

Gn 5-8. Hero, named after acharacter in Much Ado about Nothing,is not looking forward to begin-ning sixth grade at a new school,especially when she is sure her newclassmates will taunt her about herShakespearean name. Ihings lookup, however, when she gets to knowmysterious Mrs. Roth next door andcute and popular Danny Cordova atschool, in this mystery flill of allusionsto Shakespeare and his plays.

7?;f Two Loves of Will Shakespeare. ByLaurie Lawlor. 2006. 278p. Holiday,$16.95(9780823419012).

Gr. 8-up. The real-life mysteryof marriage-license applicationsmade out on consecutive days forShakespeare and two differentwomen is the basis for this entertain-ing story. Eighteen-year-old Will fallsdeeply in love with Anne Whateleybut also finds himself in an affairwith the older Anne Hathaway.

Lawlor offers insight into the laws ofthe times and highlights the repres-sive treatment of women in theElizabethan age.

The Wednesday Wars. By Gary D.Schmidt. 2007. 264p. Clarion,$16 (9780618724833); Sandpiper,paper, $6.99 (9780547237602).Also available in an audio editionfrom Scholastic Audio.

Gr. 6-9. In this 2008 NewberyHonor Book, Holling Hoodhoodspends Wednesday afternoons withhis seventh-grade English teacher,Mrs. Baker, reading and discussingShakespeare, hunting rats, and learn-ing the painful consequences of theVietnam War. While Holling is ini-tially dubious of the immortal Bard'sappeal, he changes his mind afterdiscovering the wickedly witheringcurses of The Tempesté Caliban.

Wicked Will. By Bailey MacDonald.2009. 208p. Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, $16.99 (9781416986607).

Gr. 4-8. 'Thirteen-year-old Viola,disguised as a boy, joins her uncle'sacting troop and arrives in Stratford,where she meets Will Shakespeare,a lively 12-year-old who is full ofcuriosity, mischief, and "words,words, words." When a local man ismurdered and her uncle becomes asuspect, Viola and Willjoin forces tofind the real culprit. C-¿ *

Edward T. Sullivan is the librarian at LakeCity Middle School in Anderson County,Tennessee.

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