The Tempest

by Marianna Mayer, Lynn Bywaters (Illustrator)

In this enchanting retelling, Shakespeare's magical tale is brought brilliantly to life for young readers. When the wizard Prospero seeks revenge on his enemies, his beautiful daughter, Miranda, combines forces with the playful sprite Ariel and the handsome Prince Ferdinand to teach him the power of love and forgiveness. Through exquisitely crafted prose and luminous paintings, adventure, romance, and reconciliation unfold amidst hilarious mix-ups and magic, reminding us why The Tempest , Shakespeare's last comedy, remains one of his most popular plays.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Shakespeare, Fantasy, Fiction, Retellings

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2005

About the author

Marianna Mayer is a children's book author and artist recognized for her beautifully written retellings of classic folk and fairy tales. Born in New York City, she began her artistic training early and studied at the Art Students League after a year of college. Her first book was published at the age of nineteen. Mayer has authored several acclaimed works, including Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, Pegasus, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, often collaborating with renowned illustrators such as Kinuko Y. Craft and Michael Hague. She was previously married to illustrator Mercer Mayer.

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5 year old loves this book! It’s a substantial picture book, and a perfect introduction to the play, which we will begin reading in January.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

With as many plays as Shakespeare wrote why is it the only ones I ever encountered in school were Romeo and Juliet. (Macbeth and Hamlet didn't show up until my senior year) Seriously I am so sick and tired of Romeo and Juliet. So much so I really didn't want to look at any other Shakespearean work. Luckily I saw the Taming of the shrew, which was different so I don't have as great an aversion to the bard as I did before. (Still can't stand most versions of Romeo and Juliet though.)
This story is the Tempest. Which I've heard of vaguely but never actually read through. to be honest I thought it was about a brother and sister/or were they cousins that got shipwrecked and seperated and the sister decided to pretend to be her brother, and became the servant to some prince guy and then falls in love with him, but he falls in love with another woman and sends her to woo the woman in his place and the other woman falls in love with the sisters who's pretending to be her brother and then her brother actually shows up and there are shenanigans. But in the end everyone gets the person they wanted in the first place. Which I have found isn't the same story and the only thing they have in common is the shipwreck. Shipwreck aside I was pleasantly surprised by the story. You've got the typical themes. Betrayal, revenge, redemption and love all present. I gotta say though Shakespeare is the King of insta-love over here. Miranda and the prince Ferdinand head over heels at first sight. I liked Prospero, as a father he wants what's best for his daughter. But he's not above being petty towards to the guy who wants to marry his little girl.
It's Shakespeare so of course the story is good, but I also liked the artwork. Half the reason I pick up a child's book is because I want to look at the pictures. these were beautiful with brilliant colors and wonderful backdrops.
Recommended? Yes
Buy/Borrow? Borrow probably

[The Book Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Review to come.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, lush paintings by Lynn Bywaters

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations and an adaptation of Shakepeare's tale for kids. What's not to like?

[Amy Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations and the translation, which is great for adults and children alike.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Bywaters rich, colour-drenched illustrations are magical and gorgeous: full of tiny details that make the reader want to look and look and look ... and enjoy.

[Jaimie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are a lot of things that I love about the Tempest (the magic, the island setting, the revenge of a wronged ruler, finding unexpected love), yet this retelling of the story left me very much wanting. The illustrations were artfully done (the colour tones, characterizations, and setting choices were all well made), but what made this book a failure for me is that the writer didn’t seem to take very much care with the story aspects. Attempting to adapt Shakespeare’s plays for a child audience and in a much-shortened storybook format is an almost impossible feat, since there is so much character development, clever language, and subtle plot designs that are integral to the success of the play as a whole. The author did not manage to include any of these aspects in her treatment due to her over-simplification of the language and story, which led to a tale without any of Shakespeare’s depth and an overall underwhelmed feeling of disappointment from this reader.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with gorgeous color illustrations that remind this reader of Renaissance paintings, this version of Shakespeare's The Tempest is utterly enchanting. The play has been considerably truncated and certain aspects smoothed over (Caliban’s attempted sexual assault of Miranda has been changed to a mere savage “attack”) but this is geared towards children so these alterations make sense.

The prose, rendered in contemporary English, is typed on what look like weathered parchment set within illustrations that spread from one end of the page to another. We, like the poor castaways, are thus immersed in Prospero’s world, one lush in greenery and sprinkled with arcane, mystic symbols that appear on clothing or rocks. This is a charming book, fit for a child or an adult’s library.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strongest point of the book is that it's not a re-telling in modern english, but a very good adaptation for children that retains the vocabulary, phrase construction and overall mood of the Shakespeare original, being at thesame time very faithful to the story. Although the illustrations usually depict the people with unrealistically shorter legs and bigger heads, they are still some of the best you can find today in children's books.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best children's adaptations of Shakespeare I've found and will definitely look for more by this author. Love the illustrations! We read this as preparation to see The Tempest on stage--but my 4 year old liked it much better AFTER we'd seen the play because the story was so REAL to her after seeing the production.

[Lilac Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only gorgeously illustrated, but it retells Shakespeare's "Tempest" beautifully. This tragicomedy is a great story to use as an introduction to Shakespeare for children because the relationships are not as hard to follow as some of his other comedies and it doesn't have the violence of his tragedies.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice children's adaptation - great illustrations, and a well-told story.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Linda Lipko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rendering of Shakespeare's The Tempest contains beautiful images throughout.

It is a delight for the eyes and balm for the soul.

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

It mademewant to read the actual play, and my kids liked the story. But I didn't like the pictures at all.

[Congetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved reading this book. This is a great way to introduce kids and adults to Shakespeare. The illustrations were beautiful.

[┊ ♡ Cordelia ♡┊ · Rating 5 out of 5]

౨ৎ a beautiful adaptation w/enchanting illustrations. x

[Joan Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful children's book adaptation of Shakespeare's play