William Shakespeare's: The Tempest

Shakespeare Retellings

by Bruce Coville

The Tempest is one of the most popular plays of all time. Set on an enchanted island where humans, monsters, and fairies meet, William Shakespeare's most magical play will delight young readers in this spirited retelling, illustrated in rich detail.

Genres: Classics, Shakespeare, Picture Books, Fiction, Plays, Fantasy, Literature

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Reviews

[Stephen Franks · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourites for some reason. Not as dramatic as the Scottish play or Hamlet, but it has a mystical charm that I found beguiling.

As a clever as a weasel with a top hat and a great 'starter' for wannabe Shakespeare readers.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief retelling of Shakespeare's play. Listed as for all ages, but references to drunkeness and murder, the somewhat archaic language and sentence structure, and the complex plot involving many characters would make this inappropriate for younger readers. Nice illustrations by Ruth Sanderson.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent retelling in current modern English so that youngster's can enjoy Shakespeare's play. Lovely paintings by Sanderson.

[AnnaRs · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7
'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'

It wasn't a tragic ending, more like an emotional one and surprisingly a happy one

[Timilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent intro (ignore the author's note)

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is my review for The Tempest: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I didn't like the full cast audio narration that I listened to as much as I liked this Children's version of the classic Shakespeare play. What does that say about me? ....don't answer that....

Either way, my eight-year-old son, Olsen, really liked this book as I read it to him (he liked the illustrations too).

One thing that I thought was cool about this book was that there were a lot of difficult words in here (many taken from the original text, I suspect), which made for some fun vocabulary. Also, lots of the dialogue was in the same form as you would expect from a play in the 1600's (so, not as modernized). I thought was a cool aspect of this book.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi è piaciuta tantissimo quest’opera di Shakespeare.
Ci sarebbe molto da dire, perché racchiude tanti argomenti e anche riferimenti storici, oltre che immaginari.
È un’opera storica, attuale e anche fantastica.
Tratta di svariate tematiche, come quella dei colonizzatori e popoli nativi, delle dinamiche di sfruttamento e potere.

Poi, c’è il tema delle illusioni vs la realtà. (Questo mi ha fatto impazzire)

“Tutti mutano, certo, perché il mutamento, la metamorfosi, è il principio stesso della vita, ma la verità che si acquista è sorprattutto quella della propria precarietà e debolezza, della propria imperfezione e finitudine.”

Per non citare la frase:

“Siamo fatti della stessa sostanza dei sogni, e la nostra breve vita è circondata dal sonno.”

[Mari McR · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations by Sanderson are uber detailed and loyally follow Coville's version of the Bard's "The Tempest." My children and I are reading this together as they are new to Shakespeare, and the book is brief, lovely in the story depictions, and stays 85% (thus the 4 stars) to the Bard's original. My children and I read this over lunch at a diner and while waiting for the check.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I don't feel the magic of the original story at all, and the art is not Sanderson's best. I have no idea if it's enough to get kids or newbies interested in the original, or even something closer to it. It does include a somewhat helpful author's note. And Coville did make a good model for Prospero.

[Maria Ignacia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I didn't like it that much because I had to read it to do a paper for my British Lit class.

[Zainab Mushtaq · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it rather boring

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just say that for a university degree, it's a delight to study such a comedy.

[Melissa Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. I love the Tempest. A retelling that is pleasurable for kids and adults alike

[dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

nossa não teve um momento que esse livro me prendeu uau

[Know It's Unfair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a really great reading on first run that I lost this time

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Loved this retelling for children. and the pictures are just Lovely. A Beautiful book.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Shakespeare's last play I expected it to be truly extraordinary, however it wasn't. Despite that I found the play quite entertaining and felt it had some very important messages within it. Some readers will definitely find the language hard but try and find a copy with references! That will really help you understand the play in full!

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been a huge fan of Shakespeare, but this was a nicely adapted piece with beautiful illustrations (again, I'm sure we owned it because my mom, sister, and I loved Ruth Sadnerson's illustrated works growing up). This version is easy to follow, and I wasn't familiar with the Tempest story, so, it was good to be briefed on it.

[Abram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is overall a good story about the Duke of Milan who was stranded on an island with his daughter for 12 years by his jealous brother. He forgives him and his accomplices but warns them not to do it again.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 4 out of 5]

'tis another Shakespearean play that I finished reading within 20 mins (due to the fact that the book is an abridged version, that is).

So far, this is the one play that has the most pleasant story to read...

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pictures boring. Retelling bland.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but a retelling is no match for the live performance.

[Emmalee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Shakespeare. His work is pure beauty. I can't recommend his works enough.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to Shakespeare in the form of a picture book.