Tales From Shakespeare - Hardcover

Packer, Tina; Shakespeare & Co., Shakespeare & Co.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439321077 ISBN 13: 9780439321075

Publisher: Scholastic, 2004

Synopsis

Ten of Shakespeare's most powerful, enduring plays are brilliantly retold here as great tales of love, jealousy, madness, comedy, vengeance, and heroics.
Noted Shakespearian expert, Tina Packer, Director of the premier theatre group, Shakespeare & Co, brings to life all the romance, clashing swords, dastardly plots, and hilarious comedies of 10 of Shakespeare's classic plays, retold as exciting, accessible stories and lavishly illustrated by 10 notable children's book illustrators. (See extended summary.)

About this title

Review:

Tina Packer, President and Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company theater and theater education group, brings ten of Shakespeare's most popular works to (abbreviated) life in this big, gorgeous hardcover volume. She retells the plays in a coherent style, incorporating paraphrases of some of the better-known lines for authentic flavor: "Is this a dagger which I see before me..." (Macbeth); "Ingratitude, more hideous in a child than in the sea monster..." (King Lear). Each of the ten tragedies and comedies is magnificently illustrated (one illustration per play) by an award-winning artist, including Mary GrandPre, Leo and Diane Dillon, Kadir Nelson , Chesley McLaren , and others. A lengthy and interesting introduction provides useful context for readers new to the Elizabethan world of Shakespeare.

Ideally, this book will serve as a lush introduction to the Bard for children who will go on to read--and better understand--the classic plays in their entirety. It sure beats Cliffs Notes. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author:

Tina Packer is the President and Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company, the critically acclaimed, award-winning theater and theater education group she founded in Lenox, in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, in 1978.

Ms. Packer trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. A former Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, she has appeared on stage in Great Britain and in the United States and has worked in film and television. She has received more than sixteen awards, including Guggenheim and Bunting fellowships and several honorary doctorates.

Shakespeare & Company’s philosophy and artistic vision are "rooted in the classical ideals of inquiry, balance and harmony; and in love with poetry, physical prowess, and the mysteries of the universe." In addition to performing Shakespearean productions, the company also develops new plays, provides classical performance training, and maintains an extensive educational outreach program to bring new, young audiences to Shakespeare.

Ms. Packer has directed nearly fifty productions at Shakespeare & Company, including all the plays in this book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0439321077
• ISBN 13: 9780439321075
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Illustrator: Nelson K., Moser B.