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Tales from Shakespeare
Using her signature comic strip style, the author presents seven favorite plays by William Shakespeare, distilled and adapted for little ones yet capturing the flavor of Shakespeare's English and the lively environment of the Globe Theater.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
15 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Williams
74 books50 followersMarcia Williams began to develop her distinctive comic-book style at an early age: "When I was about ten and wrote home to my family from boarding school," she says, "I never wrote normal letters. I tried to tell my family about what I was doing in a way that was more fun. Also, my parents didn't let me read comic books, so I decided to create my own."
This former nursery school teacher blends her storytelling skills and humorous illustrations with well-known figures and stories from literature. Her unique style has produced such vivid works and action-packed books as GOD AND HIS CREATIONS: TALES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. "Working on the Old Testament was a joy," Marcia Williams says. "The tales are so rich, it is always possible to find something new within them. Yet, at the same time, they have all the comfort of the familiar." The artist also found pleasure in creating CHARLES DICKENS AND FRIENDS, which presents five retellings of classic Dickens tales. Of her inspiration for this book, she tells of a teacher she once had "who was extremely fierce and angry . . . except when she read the stories of Charles Dickens aloud. Through her, all his characters lived, and I was transported to their Victorian world. I hope that readers will also enter the wonderful world of Charles Dickens through this book."
With BRAVO, MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE! and TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE Marcia Williams introduces young readers to the world of William Shakespeare's plays. Another classic she has made much more accessible to children--and more appreciated by them--is THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY. "My mother read me classics, but until I got older I never found them interesting," she says. "If I could make these stories more accessible, I realized, kids wouldn't have to wait until they were grown-up to appreciate them."
Marcia Williams traveled extensively as a child and was educated in Sussex, England, and Switzerland. During her varied career she has worked as an interior designer and has assisted cartoon artist and designer Gerald Scarfe in making papier-mâché and cloth sculptures.
This former nursery school teacher blends her storytelling skills and humorous illustrations with well-known figures and stories from literature. Her unique style has produced such vivid works and action-packed books as GOD AND HIS CREATIONS: TALES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. "Working on the Old Testament was a joy," Marcia Williams says. "The tales are so rich, it is always possible to find something new within them. Yet, at the same time, they have all the comfort of the familiar." The artist also found pleasure in creating CHARLES DICKENS AND FRIENDS, which presents five retellings of classic Dickens tales. Of her inspiration for this book, she tells of a teacher she once had "who was extremely fierce and angry . . . except when she read the stories of Charles Dickens aloud. Through her, all his characters lived, and I was transported to their Victorian world. I hope that readers will also enter the wonderful world of Charles Dickens through this book."
With BRAVO, MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE! and TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE Marcia Williams introduces young readers to the world of William Shakespeare's plays. Another classic she has made much more accessible to children--and more appreciated by them--is THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY. "My mother read me classics, but until I got older I never found them interesting," she says. "If I could make these stories more accessible, I realized, kids wouldn't have to wait until they were grown-up to appreciate them."
Marcia Williams traveled extensively as a child and was educated in Sussex, England, and Switzerland. During her varied career she has worked as an interior designer and has assisted cartoon artist and designer Gerald Scarfe in making papier-mâché and cloth sculptures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 14, 2010
This book is a comic book of Shakespeare's most famous plays. This is a great way to introduce children to the most famous playwright of all time. The plays are condensed, so don't worry about children becoming bored with this book.
October 21, 2014
Checked out from the library on a whim, this book has been a favorite of my eight-year-old for several weeks. I went ahead and purchased it since there is so much to pour over in each story. It's not a great book for a single read since the illustrator presents both the comic of the story, and then commentary from the "audience" which she has illustrated around the perimeter of the story. there is a lot to take in... The flow of the stories works well enough since they're so condensed, but I think the best recommendation for this book is that my son now wants to read the real thing...
May 9, 2018
This is a good introduction to Shakespeare for children. It is illustrated like a comic, so children can follow the action of the stories very well. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the art style, but my kids really enjoyed it, so I guess the target demographic was pleased.
April 29, 2013
In this compilation of seven Shakespeare plays, William's retells each play in the context of a performance at the Globe theatre. This conceit really enhances the reader's experience and heightens imagination of the context when the plays were originally performed. It is written for children betweeen the ages of 5-11.
The stories are told in the style of a comic strip. This immediately makes it far more accessible for children who are often more used to media being presented in this way. The illustrations are accurate and fantastically presented; the style is often very witty. The patron's reactions of mirror the reactions William's expects from her young readers, and she uses these to inform in a humourous way without distracting too much from the stories.
I would recommend this book as a fantastic introduciton to the works of Shakespeare. All too often children are 'turned off' his plays due to the language within his writing. The style of this book counters this and provides a scaffold and base understanding of the tales that they will undoubtably encounter throughout their time in education.
The stories are told in the style of a comic strip. This immediately makes it far more accessible for children who are often more used to media being presented in this way. The illustrations are accurate and fantastically presented; the style is often very witty. The patron's reactions of mirror the reactions William's expects from her young readers, and she uses these to inform in a humourous way without distracting too much from the stories.
I would recommend this book as a fantastic introduciton to the works of Shakespeare. All too often children are 'turned off' his plays due to the language within his writing. The style of this book counters this and provides a scaffold and base understanding of the tales that they will undoubtably encounter throughout their time in education.
May 5, 2012
Williams creates a story book in the form of the Shakespeare Globe. She takes the reader back to the theatre in the 17th century where actors would perform outside on a stage to their audience who would be standing or seated in stalls with venders patrolling the aisles. She reflects this in the book by constructing a comic strip.
One section has an illustration of the performers saying their Shakespearean lines. Underneath there is another section explaining the story in order for the reader to understand what the actors have just said as if it were a translation. Around the comic strip you will find illustrations of the audience and what they are doing whilst watching the play.
This allows the reader to experience what it would have been like in Shakespearean times as well as being able to understand what was going on, making Shakespeare interesting for children and bringing a sense of enjoyment and laughter to the tale. A fabulous way to teach History, English and Drama. Would definitely recommended it especially for parents to read with their young children.
One section has an illustration of the performers saying their Shakespearean lines. Underneath there is another section explaining the story in order for the reader to understand what the actors have just said as if it were a translation. Around the comic strip you will find illustrations of the audience and what they are doing whilst watching the play.
This allows the reader to experience what it would have been like in Shakespearean times as well as being able to understand what was going on, making Shakespeare interesting for children and bringing a sense of enjoyment and laughter to the tale. A fabulous way to teach History, English and Drama. Would definitely recommended it especially for parents to read with their young children.
May 11, 2012
I was first introduced to this book by my mentor in a Year 5 class on a training placement. She was using it to support a unit on play scripts. The children in the class loved the comic-strips, as many of them had already read many of the TreeTops Graphic Novels range.
Williams pitches the presentation of these seven Shakespeare plays really well for younger readers by incorporating actual quotations from the plays with more simple narrative. This is additionally supported by the stunning illustrations in the comic-strip, which bring to life seven of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays: Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet and The Tempest. Around the edge of the comic-strip, “members if the audience” comment on the action live from the Globe Theatre to give the reader a sense of the experience of attending the plays at the time. This book provides a refreshing way to engage children with Shakespeare’s classic plays and is suitable for KS2 readers. I would highly recommend this to other teachers and parents.
Williams pitches the presentation of these seven Shakespeare plays really well for younger readers by incorporating actual quotations from the plays with more simple narrative. This is additionally supported by the stunning illustrations in the comic-strip, which bring to life seven of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays: Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet and The Tempest. Around the edge of the comic-strip, “members if the audience” comment on the action live from the Globe Theatre to give the reader a sense of the experience of attending the plays at the time. This book provides a refreshing way to engage children with Shakespeare’s classic plays and is suitable for KS2 readers. I would highly recommend this to other teachers and parents.
April 17, 2009
I am a huge fan of these retold tales - they remind me of the old comic books of the classics I read when I was younger - who can forget the Jane Eyre comic where the mad wife threw herself off the roof, cartoon flames everywhere, thrilling.
While each illustrated synopsis is intended for children or easily amused adults (hello), I have noticed a number of high school kids checking them out as well - not quite Sparknotes but great for an overview.
While each illustrated synopsis is intended for children or easily amused adults (hello), I have noticed a number of high school kids checking them out as well - not quite Sparknotes but great for an overview.
December 31, 2011
Seven plays from Shakespeare presented in easy-to-understand language and comic strip format that will get younger readers curious about learning more about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theatre.
May 15, 2019
These books are good👍😻
My favourite book is Romeo and Juliet.
My favourite book is Romeo and Juliet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2017
Tales From Shakespeare include some of of the most well-known plays in history: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, and The Tempest.
Marcia Williams created a beautiful collection of recaps from seven of Shakespeare's famous plays. Each version felt like you were really reading the play and the illustrations brought everything together nicely. I hadn't read The Winter's Tale before and I loved Williams' summary so much. I believe she captured the most important aspects of each play and did so with her own personal style. This is a book I'd love to add to my classroom collection because it would be an awesome resource tool to have when covering Shakespeare.
Marcia Williams created a beautiful collection of recaps from seven of Shakespeare's famous plays. Each version felt like you were really reading the play and the illustrations brought everything together nicely. I hadn't read The Winter's Tale before and I loved Williams' summary so much. I believe she captured the most important aspects of each play and did so with her own personal style. This is a book I'd love to add to my classroom collection because it would be an awesome resource tool to have when covering Shakespeare.
August 12, 2011
Weak retellings of several of Shakespeare’s stories in what pretends to be a children’s picture book. Williams is a very cluttered artist, and her conceit of setting her stories in the Globe Theatre during a performance with patrons commenting on the action adds to that clutter. Their comments are sometimes more numerous than those of the characters in the story, making it harder to follow than it needs to be. The stories are not insightfully told most of the time, and the color palate does not suit each story. There are occasional very nice touches, but I found these a slog through too much sensory information and odd, even wrong adaptive decisions.
April 6, 2013
Bea poured over this for a few weeks and I haven't and have to send it back to the library today. Done in comic book style, it seems an accessible introduction to Shakespeare. Bea says (basically) that the plots were crazy and hard to follow and the language was complex. Sounds like she captured Shakespeare to me :-)
October 17, 2015
A good intro to Shakespeare for kids, though, like the Dickens book, I found bits hard to follow and characters weren't really built on. Was sad there was no Twelfth Night, but noticed there is in another of these books. Also - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern weren't even named!!!
March 7, 2013
Great introduction to Shakespeare plays. My dad read to me when I was younger and it was so much easier to understand the plays when I eventually got to the full versions.
March 7, 2013
Great introduction to Shakespeare's plays. My dad read them to me and it was much easier to understand the real plays. I love the audience participation, too!
April 2, 2013
We read the "Julius Caesar" section from this book. Marcia Williams does a great job summarizing (with many Shakespeare's quotes) these plays, but I don't care for her illustrations.
June 24, 2008
Easy to read; love the comic book style.
June 6, 2017
This book is genius. Yes, it’s only 40 pages, and yes it could be argued that only kids in grade school would think to read it, but this book is actually for everybody. Marcia Williams has taken seven Shakespearean plays, illustrated them in a comic book fashion, and transformed the confusing language into plot and dialogue that can be understood by seven-year-olds. Every page is illustrated from corner to corner with adorable cartoons, and Williams transports her readers directly into Shakespeare’s world: On every page, the reader takes a seat in the Globe Theater, where fellow audience members shout out rude and hilarious comments from the margins—just like they did in real life!
If you love Shakespeare, you’ll get a kick out of these adorable guides to Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, and The Tempest. If you’re not his biggest fan, the side-splitting humor will give you a new appreciation for England’s most famous playwright. And if you don’t even like ol’ Willy at all—my case when I picked up this book—Marcia Williams will change your mind. Trust me, she’s the reason I can stomach even the mention of his name.
Liked it? Marcia Williams has a bunch more, including More Tales from Shakespeare and companion guides to Greek, Indian, and Egyptian tales. She’s pretty amazing, huh?
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/tales-...
If you love Shakespeare, you’ll get a kick out of these adorable guides to Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, and The Tempest. If you’re not his biggest fan, the side-splitting humor will give you a new appreciation for England’s most famous playwright. And if you don’t even like ol’ Willy at all—my case when I picked up this book—Marcia Williams will change your mind. Trust me, she’s the reason I can stomach even the mention of his name.
Liked it? Marcia Williams has a bunch more, including More Tales from Shakespeare and companion guides to Greek, Indian, and Egyptian tales. She’s pretty amazing, huh?
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/tales-...
Read
April 18, 2020I am not a big fan of this book; however, I appreciate the educational value it brings to introducing a younger audience to Shakespeare’s plays. With in the book there are 7 plays that have been broken down and reconstructed into comic strips. This book recreates the plays of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar and The Tempest.
Williams has still managed to keep the Shakespearian language and well-known quotes in the dialogue, as well as all the major characters. The comic strip style, short sentences and dialogue makes it accessible for young readers (5-11). It gives an overview of the main plot from each play but is not overwhelming in detail.
The illustrations are clever, the more you look at them the more details you notice. An example of this is in Romeo and Juliet the characters from each the Montagues and Capulets wear the colours of their houses; therefore, it is easy to understand which family the character is from. Around the sides of the comic strips are illustrations of the audience, set out as if they were in the globe theatre. The higher up the page they are, the higher their social status, this is also demonstrated through their clothing.
I used the book to introduce a year 5 class to Romeo and Juliet. In the first lesson I gave them time to look over the illustrations and note any words they were not familiar with (for a later lesson where we would explore their meaning). Then we talked through what their first impressions of the play. Once we had read through the pages of Romeo and Juliet, the children were really invested in the story; asking questions about the characters and plot. The children really liked it and found the humour in the illustrations.
This book is a great way to introduce students to Shakespeare plays and I found it a great support to refer back to when using more detailed versions of the play.
Williams has still managed to keep the Shakespearian language and well-known quotes in the dialogue, as well as all the major characters. The comic strip style, short sentences and dialogue makes it accessible for young readers (5-11). It gives an overview of the main plot from each play but is not overwhelming in detail.
The illustrations are clever, the more you look at them the more details you notice. An example of this is in Romeo and Juliet the characters from each the Montagues and Capulets wear the colours of their houses; therefore, it is easy to understand which family the character is from. Around the sides of the comic strips are illustrations of the audience, set out as if they were in the globe theatre. The higher up the page they are, the higher their social status, this is also demonstrated through their clothing.
I used the book to introduce a year 5 class to Romeo and Juliet. In the first lesson I gave them time to look over the illustrations and note any words they were not familiar with (for a later lesson where we would explore their meaning). Then we talked through what their first impressions of the play. Once we had read through the pages of Romeo and Juliet, the children were really invested in the story; asking questions about the characters and plot. The children really liked it and found the humour in the illustrations.
This book is a great way to introduce students to Shakespeare plays and I found it a great support to refer back to when using more detailed versions of the play.
January 12, 2021
The cartoon-strip illustrations are beautifully drawn. The basic story outline of each play is conveyed. But who is this book for? It offers a useful introduction to the plays perhaps, but the cartoons are too complicated for young children and lacking in sufficient detail for older children who may wish to really understand the plots. The outer edges of the story cartoon sections are decorated with amusing, but rather distracting images of the audience, with their comments about the plays - including Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare himself. Reading these outer scenes as I went along, I found it was easy to lose track of the play's plot, but afterwards they seemed a little pointless. I would have preferred not to have had these, and the space used to increase the size of the section telling the actual story of the play so that more detail could be added.
I bought this book in a charity shop with my grandson in mind. I have no idea at what age it will prove of interest to him, and there is no suggested age suitability on the book. (Google says around 8+)
Overall I found it a rather dissatisfying book - but it is intended for children. Hopefully the fabulous drawings, and cartoon style of presentation will provide sufficient interest in younger readers to encourage further study of Shakespeare's plays.
I bought this book in a charity shop with my grandson in mind. I have no idea at what age it will prove of interest to him, and there is no suggested age suitability on the book. (Google says around 8+)
Overall I found it a rather dissatisfying book - but it is intended for children. Hopefully the fabulous drawings, and cartoon style of presentation will provide sufficient interest in younger readers to encourage further study of Shakespeare's plays.
December 31, 2021
This particular book has been gathering dust on my shelves for an eternity (a decade, but for such a short short book, it pretty much equals out). I've read one play or another at various times, but never before did I make the effort to read all 7 plays in one go.
The reason for this is that the book is not inviting, imo, to an adult audience, being marketed for children aged 8-12, and it does not appeal to the child within me (not even to the teenager). There is such a confusion of language, illustration style, and strange original-play line choices that it creates a strangely dissonant reading experience.
As an adult, I could enjoy certain aspects of it while being baffled/annoyed by the author's choices, but if I consider actual children who would be confronted by the same material, I cannot but be skeptical of any positive outcome of reading the plays (except maybe a cursory knowledge of the plots).
Consequently, I am not shelving this in my children's books category, and will only recommend it to adult/ya readers (who either love or can't stand Shakespeare).
The reason for this is that the book is not inviting, imo, to an adult audience, being marketed for children aged 8-12, and it does not appeal to the child within me (not even to the teenager). There is such a confusion of language, illustration style, and strange original-play line choices that it creates a strangely dissonant reading experience.
As an adult, I could enjoy certain aspects of it while being baffled/annoyed by the author's choices, but if I consider actual children who would be confronted by the same material, I cannot but be skeptical of any positive outcome of reading the plays (except maybe a cursory knowledge of the plots).
Consequently, I am not shelving this in my children's books category, and will only recommend it to adult/ya readers (who either love or can't stand Shakespeare).
January 25, 2025
Seven Shakespearean plays translated in a comic book fashion for children.
Use of original lines had been added in the artwork.
Globe Theatre scenarios framed the storyboards for more detail toward the classics.
Parents might need to assist young children as to what the tales are about.
Subject matter could be considered not appropriate due to poisoning and slaying.
Discretion advised on mature themes.
Use of original lines had been added in the artwork.
Globe Theatre scenarios framed the storyboards for more detail toward the classics.
Parents might need to assist young children as to what the tales are about.
Subject matter could be considered not appropriate due to poisoning and slaying.
Discretion advised on mature themes.
October 7, 2017
Accessible to all - 4*
Some of the vocabulary was difficult but it was interesting to investigate this with the children. Loved the comic book style (even my SEN children could access) and was a great reading tool. We were able to use this as to summarise the main ideas into six sections and this lead onto a play-script.
Fab tool!
(It just missed out some key parts of the story to reach 5*.)
Some of the vocabulary was difficult but it was interesting to investigate this with the children. Loved the comic book style (even my SEN children could access) and was a great reading tool. We were able to use this as to summarise the main ideas into six sections and this lead onto a play-script.
Fab tool!
(It just missed out some key parts of the story to reach 5*.)
March 24, 2024
I wish I had this book in high school....I remember enjoying Shakespeare, but this was so much more fun to read! I love the comic format, and the mix between Shakespeare's words, Marcia Williams retelling, and the side quips from the "onlookers."
I don't remember reading The Winter's Tale before, but it ended up being my favorite.
I don't remember reading The Winter's Tale before, but it ended up being my favorite.
March 1, 2022
I personally love Shakespeare. This basically has the summary of seven different plays Shakespeare wrote with illustrations included. I wouldn't read this to little kids though.
August 8, 2022
Graphic adaptations of Shakespearian plays for kids . . . really well done!
August 18, 2023
This was fun to read with my 10 year old son. He liked the graphic novel aspect of it and the stories were easy to follow along with.
September 29, 2023
Read a play to T (8). It was difficult to read, very busy, never knew where to read next, distracting illustrations. Did not finish.
June 14, 2025
A delightful read that I can find myself narrating or rereading to. And accompanied with the whimsical illustrations by Marcia Williams, this is a great take on the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare.
December 8, 2016
This is a graphic novel that has multiple plays from Shakespeare. Each play is written in Early Modern Language the way Shakespeare wrote his plays, but also the current version of English that we use today. This novel will give children an idea of how romantic and fascinating Shakespeare plays were.
I really liked this book because of the graphics that were used in each play. My favorite thing about the book is that it has both languages, which allow readers today to understand the meaning of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare was an incredible play writer, and this book has lots of my favorite plays in them.
Quote: "My only love sprung from my only hate."
Books that you can pair this book with are: The Adventures of Robin Hood & More Tales From Shakespeare
I really liked this book because of the graphics that were used in each play. My favorite thing about the book is that it has both languages, which allow readers today to understand the meaning of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare was an incredible play writer, and this book has lots of my favorite plays in them.
Quote: "My only love sprung from my only hate."
Books that you can pair this book with are: The Adventures of Robin Hood & More Tales From Shakespeare
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews