Julius Caesar

by Christina Lacie M.A., Michele Earle-Bridges (Illustrator)

Julius Caesar, the Shakespearean drama that is in the curriculum of virtually every high school in the country, is the latest offering in Barron’s Picture This! Shakespeare series. Each title in this series offers a highly original introduction to a Shakespeare play, presenting it as a graphic-novel-style picture story, supplemented with substantial excerpts from Shakespeare’s original dialogue. Students will also find thumbnail sketches of the play’s main characters, and a succinct story summary that explains the play’s main themes and meanings. Many students who are daunted by the difficulty of reading Shakespeare’s dramas in their original form have found titles in this series to be an important first step in appreciating these universally recognized masterpieces of English literature. Supplementing every Picture This! Shakespeare title is a teacher’s guide that suggests topics for classroom discussion and provides enlightening activities that fulfill the needs of a multi-skill-level classroom environment.

64 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2006

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because of the brief summaries, cartoon pictures, and the language that was fairly easy to understand. Not only did this book have cartoon pictures, but it also had blocks of the script. Alternating between the cartoons and the texts allowed me to better comprehend what was happening because it trained me not to fully rely on the pictures, but on the words as well. At the end of every act, there would be a "Think About It' box that encouraged the reader to reflect on what just happened.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting adaptation of Shakespeare's play that is designed to help teach the principles of English education to students along with the play. It is a bit touchy/feely compared to most books in this series, and is unusual in comic book style adaptations for the large number of text pages. Still, it tells the story well.

[Kesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful means to delve into a complex story line that is loaded with literary devices. Picture This is a fantastic series that make difficult text very plain for all readers.