The Merchant of Venice (Graphic Classic, Barron's Educational Series) - Hardcover

Shakespeare, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0764162985 ISBN 13: 9780764162985

Publisher: B E S Pub Co, 2010

Synopsis

The life of Antonio, the merchant of Venice, is threatened by Shylock the moneylender, when Antonio cannot repay his debt. But Antonio is brilliantly defended in a court of law by Portia, the clever young wife of his dear friend Bassanio. Graphic Classics titles introduce many of the world's literary masterpieces to young readers. Elementary and secondary school teachers will value these books as a way to make great novels and plays accessible to their students--especially to those students who resist reading. Presented in graphic novel format, each title tells an absorbing, fast-paced story dramatized with high-quality color illustrations. After delving into any of these stimulating titles, many boys and girls will feel encouraged to discover the joy of reading the masterworks in their original form. Each Graphic Classics title includes a thumbnail biography of the author, a list of his or her important works, a timeline of historic events that helped inspire the sto

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

(back cover)
"All that glisters is not gold."

Antonio needs to borrow a huge sum of money to help out his friend Bassanio. Shylock, a rich banker, agrees to lend him the money -- but if Antonio can't pay it back on time, the consequences will be terrible.

Meanwhile, Bassanio is in love with the beautiful Portia -- and he's not the only one . . .

Here is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, vividly and faithfully retold in graphic novel format.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4-6–Two more entries in Barron's series, not to be confused with Eureka's series of the same name. The stories are encapsulated in two-page units of plot and circumstance for easy consumption. Captions explain the events, pictures help to differentiate among the characters, and the volumes are rife with footnotes and explication at the bottom of every page. Breaking the story down into bite-size chunks helps with vocabulary and comprehension, but can wreak havoc with the pacing. Readers are apt to find Merchant overlong, with the narrowly focused chapters giving some of Shakespeare's short, establishing scenes an accidental or unfortunate weight. However, Macdonald strives to maintain as much of the Bard's original language as possible. This effort to represent the original material may be hard going for readers, but it provides an authentic experience that the much looser adaptation of Mohicans can't match. Merchant's artwork focuses on heads and faces, giving each character an opportunity to act out the dialogue, and works quite well, both narratively and educationally.Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
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About this edition

• Publisher: B E S Pub Co
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0764162985
• ISBN 13: 9780764162985
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Gelev Penko