Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare Stories #15

by Andrew Matthews

A lively retelling of Shakespeare's famous work about the foolish ways people behave when they're in love. With Notes on Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre and Love and Lies in Much Ado About Nothing.

Genres: Classics, Shakespeare, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Plays, Romance

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Andrew Matthews was born in South Glamorgan in 1948. Andrew taught English in Hampshire after which he became a full-time writer. He lives in Reading with his wife and their cats. Andrew's work has been widely translated and he has made numerous appearances at schools and libraries throughout the UK.


Source: United Agents.

Reviews

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my very first Shakespeare play, I read it when I was about 11-12 years old, in arabic (I knew no english back then :D ) that's why it has a special place in my heart!

Here again, love is one of the play's main themes, in addition to jealousy, spite, cheating and regret.
In a very humourous way, this little retelling captures the essence of the play but of course you need to read the whole one to really enjoy Benedick and Beatrice lashing at each other.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this as a read aloud to our family with children ranging from ages 9 to 17, in preparation for seeing the play next weekend. It was short and quick. My husband's one complaint was that it was very watered down, but I said you couldn't expect it not to be considering the subject matter. There were parts that were completely glossed over so as to make the story still be kid-friendly. This short retelling did enough to help our kids understand the plot so when they see the play next week it won't be completely unfamiliar and they won't be lost or confused.

[Elly · Rating 3 out of 5]

pure chaos — loved it.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of love.

I found this a very good story with a good / happy ending.

Reading time of around 45 minutes (children's short version).

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for teaching Shakespeare to primary children.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out for my kids to read -- they've watched (most of - we skip the middle for them) Josie Rourke's brilliant staging of the play (set in 1980's Gibraltar and starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate) several times over and loved it.

My 9-year-old read this on the walk home from school, then immediately re-read it. That night, she read it aloud to her 7-year-old sister. My 9-year-old exclaimed, "Can we watch that play again? Now I understand it! Before I just got the funny parts."

I read it this morning, and it feels like a nice introduction to the play for the younger set. I started reading the Charles and Mary Lamb version a few months ago, and was quite disappointed to see how they shoehorned Victorian values into the play (on the first page, there's something about how Benedick was offended at how forward and unladylike Beatrice is -- he wasn't, but apparently the Lambs were!) I think this version gets the sense of the play, and the sense of the characters, across in a brief space. The illustrations are fantastic (remind me very much of Quentin Blake's work). I can't wait to introduce the kids to more of these!

[Booked_On_Hooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4/5
🔹️Genre: friendship/deceit/love/feelings
🔹️Age Range: 8 and upwards
🔹️Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔹️Setting:⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔹️Characters Journey:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔹️Entertainment Level:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero's cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as untrustworthy and before they marry. She faints and is believed dead, but recovers to be proved innocent by a chance discovery. Benedict wins Beatrice’s love defending her cousin’s honour, and to his surprise, Claudio is reunited with Hero, who he believed dead.

This was the second book I've read from this series, and it was a really nice read. The journey of love between Benedick and Beatrice was nice to follow, and the little interference from characters driven by jealousy is a nice addition to any love story.

[JW van der Merwe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The folly of love...when two girls are looking for husbands. Is it infatuation or is it love? The story is two setups - stories where two couples get married in the end. When people are in love sometimes act foolishly especially in the presence of the one they are in love with or defensively when caught out. What is strange about the story for me is that both couples fall in love with persons who are very much like they themselves are and not in the way of many other couples i.e. opposites attract one another - here to me is kind finds kind! There are two different love setups and a small anti-climax (or for the love sick so sweet) in the end. It is Shakespeare rewritten for maybe young children but clearly still Shakespeare now without the Queen's English! Amply illustrated with comical drawings.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to read more Shakespeare's but didn't know where to start so I bought the kids versions of his works. They are easy to understand and have some nice illustrations to look at, plus the covers are in my opinion so cute.
A bit of a random feeling story not sure if I like it enough to read the original...

[Mary Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, kid friendly, retelling……kid friendly in that a child could read it to himself before he could read Lamb’s retellings. I read this to my 5 yr old after she had listened/watched the play in the original language with her older siblings. I’ll still use Lamb’s when I read a retelling for school.

[MAK KA · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was talk about two couples falling in love, and they were facing difference problems. I think this story can't fully explain what happened in the story and their had some publishing problems also , this problem let me can understand what were they talking.

[collection.of.words · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this quick read! I read it in under 30 minutes and you get a good insight to the plot. Now I'm intrested in reading the whole play although I already know the story. It is a little fast but perfect to see if you like the story and get the plot.

[MiR · Rating 3 out of 5]

"من به واقع هیچ چیز را در جهان به اندازه تو دوست نمی دارم، عجیب نیست؟" بندیک گفت.
.
.
خدا چرا خیلی خلاصه گفته شده:)
ولی قشنگ بود . و هپی بود خداروشکر.
و برای بار هزارم خوشحالم قبل از خوندن آثار شکسپیر، زندگینامه ش رو خونده بودم ، چون اینطوری بیشتر میتونم آثارش رو درک کنم

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This shows how lies and disbelief can change the path of events although in the end it was a happy ending.

[Dallas Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, just needed to be longer !

[Syd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny; Good for younglings who r too young 2 read the real version.

[Rachel C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short re-telling. Great illustrations!

[Liselotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I read these! I really want to read the real deal now!

[Cheri Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good kid level Shakespeare

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet this one works shortened

[Payal Sachdeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book !

[chelsea ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good, short read! Quite confusing in certain places but over all an easy read! Perfect for anyone being introduced to Shakespeare!

[Rebecca Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be my favourite one of these so far I really enjoyed it.I am definitely going to pick up the original edition of this soon.

[jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

i need the actual book NOWWW

[Zoya Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I would recommend it to those who are interested in Shakespearean romance.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the characters

[Anne Jennen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bitter comedy about the foolish way people behave in love. How easily we can believe that a lie is true, and the truth is a lie.

[Aliyah Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so cute I loved it

[Manna_Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as an introduction for the real thing. They loved it!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read in 5 mins