Julius Caesar

Shakespeare Stories #25

by Andrew Matthews, Tony Ross (Illustrator)

Over two million Shakespeare Shorts sold! Discover the world of Shakespeare with this collection of brilliant stories - perfect for readers of all ages.

Rome's greatest general, Julius Caesar, returns to the city celebrating a glorious victory. But among the cheering crowds, a group of conspirators are determined to prevent Caesar becoming king...

A brilliant retelling of Shakespeare's famous Roman play.

Genres: Shakespeare, Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Plays, Chapter Books

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1599

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

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

بازنویسی خوبی برای بچه های رنج سنی ۷-۱۲ سال شده؛ فقط کاش به صورت نمایشنامه ای نوشته می‌شد.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this series called "A Shakespeare Story" at a yard sale and this is the first book I chose to read.

While others writers have simplified or modernized Shakespearean prose, Andrew Matthews and illustrator Tony Ross seek to simplify the story.

Not having read nor seen Shakespeare's take on the death of Caesar, I trust that this is the story he wrote.

I'm inspired to re-read The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination which I remember having noted Shakespeare's variations from the facts as we understand them today.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

another class read 🙏 we preferred macbeth but still liked this one

[writtenbyshana]

نمایشنامه بخونم❌ برم خلاصه شده با نقاشی گوگولی بخونم✅

[Meg]

You too, Brutus?

[Happy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read any of Shakespeare's tragedy but did not have the time to do it. It is such a shame considering that I am an English teacher. When I found this in the book sale, I immediately picked it up.

This is a good summary to the drama and I believe that my non-reader students could really enjoy and understand the tragedy of Julius Ceasar.

[Tanzina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an abridged version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar written in prose. This tragedy see’s the death of Julius Caesar, who was a Victorious Roman general and senator.

Julius Caesar is shown as an arrogant character that has become dismissive of other people. The people of Rome become fearful that if he gains power he will become the tyrant that everyone fears. Due to this fact his friend Brutus and others, plot against Julius Caesar and kill him. The irony of this story is that Brutus kills him to protect Roman liberty, when in fact he leads Rome to being ruled by ruthless emperors.

I really enjoyed reading this story and I believe it is suitable for upper KS2 children; it is suitable as an introduction to Shakespeare’s plays. This story has many cross curricular links such as Literacy, History and Geography.

[Alina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quite like this book because the main story isn’t about Julius but about Mark and Brutus. It was very Interesting and I love how clever Mark Antony was.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the set of 16 adapted Shakespeare plays when I was about 8, and I am ashamed to say that I still haven’t read all of them. However, I have made up my mind to read them all this year. Here’s my first review of this collection.

Julius Caesar was actually a pretty good book! It makes me excited to explore the 15 other abridged Shakespeare plays this year and read the original version of Romeo and Juliet this spring for English. (Reminder of my rating scale: 5 stars is “amazing,” and “perfect,” and “I could read this 100 times!” 4 stars is “love it!” 3 stars is “like it,” 2 stars is “managed to get through this but was very disappointed,” and 1 star is “I couldn’t even finish this or really wish I hadn’t; I wish I hadn’t picked up this book in the first place).

So, evidently, I ended up liking this book! Here were the reasons I enjoyed it:

Simplicity

Shakespeare takes a lot of effort to get through, but this abridged version was perfect for children, teens, or anyone who has a hard time reading old language but still wants to discover the works of Shakespeare. Matthews and Ross did a phenomenal job of presenting this Shakespeare play in a way that was short and easy to read, but it still included details, strong writing, three-dimensional characters, and the main things Shakespeare included in the original.

Theme

I really loved the moral of this story. A lot of times, we do things that we think are right in the moment, but yield results that aren’t full-blown “right” or “wrong.” This book demonstrates this theme in a way that is easy to understand and applicable to daily life. This book also demonstrated how easily people are swayed and the fact that you should listen to your gut. These are very important things to know, and through these shortened versions, kids can learn these lessons, too.

However, there were also some things I didn’t like about this book; that’s why it only got 3 stars. Here are the things I disliked:

Gore

There was way too much bloodshed in this book, and this is the children’s version. I don’t think this was so much a Matthew-Ross problem as a Shakespeare problem; you couldn’t have the story without the bloodshed, so it had to be included in some way, shape, or form.

The Ending

The resolution to this story was so sad, but I feel that all Shakespeare works are this way. I guess I’ll just have to get used to it 😂.


Anywho, overall, this was a fantastic book! Thank you Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross for adapting these books for a kid-friendlier, easy to understand (but still including Shakespeare’s work), and applicable collection of these books! I look forward to reading the other 15 books!

[nura · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I have passed judgement, and will not take it back,” Caesar said haughtily. “Caesar has spoken!”

“And now my dagger speaks!” The last to strike was Brutus, and when he pulled his dagger out of Caesar, Caesar staggered against him.

“What, you too, Brutus?” Caesar gasped, then fell dead at Brutus’s feet.

—no comments, just goosebumps
____

you would think that a short story highlighting the complex story of shakespeare’s play wouldn’t be so profound.
as i am not a native english speaker, i felt getting into shakespeare quite challenging, but this short story was a good introduction into the story.

[Thomas A Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and simple retelling of Shakespeare’s genius Julius Caesar. In the story, it’s clear that the writer Andrew Mathews knows the stories by Shakespeare very well. I’m looking forward to reading his whole collection of great retelling. Please get them yourself, and experience the beauty of Shakespeare in an acceptable way. The illustrations are beautiful too in these great little books.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I brought "The Shakespeare Stories" by Andrew Matthews & Tony Ross from Ollie's Bargain Outlet. This is an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for a young reader. I remember having to read Shakespeare in school but I'm really enjoying this box set. The story of "Julius Caesar" is about the following of intuition, pride, jealousy, and sadly betrayal. It did remind me of the Jesus story.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I’ve always loved the story of Cleopatra and how Caesar ties into it, I find Shakespeare plays hard to understand with their ‘thee art thou’ so this was a good introduction to Shakespeare written for children with illustrations, and I learnt more about Caesar through it, especially with the notes at the end and I liked how it had notes on the Globe Theatre!

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is meant for a younger reader, it was an enjoyable and quick version of one of Shakespeare’s tales. The opening format, explaining the characters is excellent. Looking forward to reading the others.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read my review on the play, Antony and Cleopatra, then you will understand why I was not too fond of this play and why next to the previously stated play, they were the only two plays that I have read by Shakespeare so far that I was not too fond of.

[K.c. Buell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great easy to read retell if Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Fantastic for kids.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading these Shakespeare Shorts to JJ. Good introduction to Shakespeare’s plays.

[Jake · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was trash.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Shakespeare

[Lottie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Daryl Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm quite ashamed to admit this, but I only knew Mark Antony's speech before, not the story. Now that I've read this simplified version, I finally understand the reason behind it. 😬

[Maria Gracia Cabrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

porque esto me dio pena

[Seren xx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good!!!

[Cat ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for young children, so it’s extremely basic (obviously!) - but this brief retelling of Julius Caesar was the perfect synopsis I need before I see it on stage this week!

[MiR · Rating 3 out of 5]

"او از همه رومی ها شریفتر بود" آنتونی گفت.
.
.
جالبی این اثر ، خارج از شخصیت پردازی فوق العاده ش، موضوعیه که پیش میکشه
و خب این از‌همه بیشتر نظر منو جلب کرد و بخوام به صورت کلی بگمش که اسپویلم محسوب نشه
"چه کسی سیاه هست و چه کسی سفید؟چه تصمیمی به حق هست؟"

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good simplified version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar for younger children. It is not, however, the best pick for a bedtime story. "Last night, my wife Calpurnia dreamed that a huge statue of me stood in the forum. The statue began to gush out fountains of blood. Many citizens washed their hands in the blood and smiled as they did so." "Only Brutus remained calm. He stooped and pressed his palms into the red pool that was spreading around Caesar's body, then lifted his hands high for all to see." (Now, I knew it wasn't a bedtime story, but the fact is that my son asked me to read it at bedtime, his choice. His brother was reading the actual play during COVID19 distance learning, and another older brother and I decided to read the play along with him. The 6th grader did not want to be left out.).

We have a boxed set of these simplified Shakespeare stories, and they've come in handy for review or introduction before watching annual community Shakespeare performances with our family.

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got to read this to Ollie today. Really enjoyed how its bookended with quotes from the play. Each page has a picture and that really helped Ollie keep interested while the story wound on. It was about 60+ pages long, and probably stretched the limit of how long he could pay attention in one sitting, but the details were good, and several famous quotes were included in this adaptation. Excited to read more with the kids!

[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. However I don't think Julius Caesar is really my cup of tea...

[Cjukes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy abridged version.

[Flora Hillage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of betrayal