William Shakespeare’s: Twelfth Night

Shakespeare Retellings

by Bruce Coville, Kathryn Hewitt (Illustrator)

Bruce Coville follows his earlier critically acclaimed retellings of Shakespeare's works with a lively interpretation of one of the Bard's most beloved comedies. In this boisterous tale of hidden identities and misplaced love, Coville once again weaves his own lyrical prose together with pivotal lines from Twelfth Night.

Tim Raglin has captured all the hilarity of the play in his expressively comic illustrations. Shakespeare enthusiasts and newcomers alike will delight in this faithful, merry adaptation.

Genres: Picture Books, Shakespeare, Classics, Folklore, Childrens, School, Retellings

48 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2003

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

[Aneesa]

This is where the ridiculous parts of Shakespeare's reputation comes from.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this format to introduce children to William Shakespear's plays. The wording and the pictures make it easier to understand.

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful rendition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for kids. The pictures are wonderful. The author weaves summary with direct quotations from the plays. Although the text is over my kids's heads (they are 4 & 5), still, they have requested we read it several times.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this as our introduction to Twelfth Night before seeing the play. Definitely the best way to start is with a children's book to get familiar with the story!!! Then we moved on to reading the real play, and then saw it on stage.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, love the illustrations. They are so detailed and the faces and facial expressions are wonderfully done.

The text is well done and easy to understand. This play has always been a mystery to me with its many characters and subplots so I guess I needed a middle-school retelling to understand. This is well done.

[Kylie Quigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5 stars rounded up**

Aww, that was really cute!! I enjoy Shakespeare, I think that's obvious lol, but it can be hard to understand. However, I really enjoyed how this story was set up and the characters that it represented. It told Shakespeare in a way that was easy to follow and understand, as a Children's book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mistaken identity...twins...a comedy.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good retelling. It is more complete than the others we have read and gives lines to the characters straight from the plays.

[Melissa Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Cori Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a weird story, but Bruce Coville does a good job making it for accessible for young readers. :)

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

good overview of the play. Read-aloud with kids in one sitting, March '26

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, you want to read the story of Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night". You are looking for something fun and visual but not too dumbed down. You are looking for something that will appeal to your 3rd-grader and not offend your high school student. You are looking for a great introduction to the bard, and/or a quick synopsis before viewing the actual play. Well then, this is your book!

"Twelfth Night" is one of the better known Shakespearean comedies. It contains the elements of mistaken identity, crossed love interests, disguise, deceit, sword play, and general buffoonery. Coville has done a wonderful job teasing out the story and it's entanglements. He's also carefully woven in actual lines from the play so that the feel of the language rings true and we too may quote the bard!

Raglin's illustrations set the scene with clear colors and attention to Elizabethan details. The major characters are attractive and the minor characters are wittily exaggerated.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book of Shakespeare retellings (by Bruce Coville) that my library has. I read this to my eight-year-old, Olsen. His review will follow.

I had seen the movie She’s the Man with Amanda Bynes years ago but did not realize it was based off this play. I thought it was a cute movie. This book was fun. Sort of silly. I like when we see more modern-ish retellings (like the She’s the Man movie) of old Shakespeare plays. Anyways, I wish I could read more classics like this to my son (and at some point, my daughter), when they’re retold in a way for kids to understand and appreciate. But, I do not know of many more like this.

Olsen’s rating: 4 stars
Olsen’s review:
I liked how Viola was disguised as a boy. I liked how everyone fell in love in the end. I liked the sword fight.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific version to introduce this play! Coville manages to capture the feel of the original text while telling the story in a simplified, more modern day style. Woodcut illustrations are a nice accompaniment. The text is meaty/long enough that this serves equally well as a first introduction to upper elementary kids AND to high school kids just about to study the play in more depth. Wish it was more available!

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are planning on seeing the Oregon Shakespeare production of this play this summer. Coville's retelling of this play was humorous and fun. We enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of his works.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

so far so good

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like the artwork in this book as well as I do the others, but it is still a great adaptation.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are well done. The story is limited to the essential, so it's easy to follow and concise. Though I liked it mostly because it reminded me of the 1996 movie directed by Trevor Nunn.

[Angie Libert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I wish the library contained the full collection of these!

[Lilac Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family just adores the Bruce Coville picture-book versions of Shakespeare. This one was no exception.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retold tale

[Timilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures only add to the comedy. A delightful pairing. Well done!