Poetry Review #43

Poetry for Kids: William Shakespeare

Author: William Shakespeare
Editor: Dr. Marguerite Tassi
Illustrator: Merce Lopez
Publisher: MoonDance Press, 2018
ISBN: 978-1633225046
Reading Ages: 8-12 years
Genre: Children's Literary Biography,                             Children’s Poetry, Shared Poetry                        Reading

I Gave This Book 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? I love the idea of this book. It is wonderful for younger thespians interested in Shakespeare. The dramatic dialogue and poetry in this collection are perfect for shared poetry reading sessions. I do think that some readers will have a difficult time with the meanings and comprehension. 

Poetic Elements: It's Shakespeare! Sonnets anyone? (Little songs or sonetto, from the Latin word sonus meaning a sound.) You can find the 14 lines, a particular rhyming scheme, Iambic pentameter, and a volta or the turn from the problem to the solution in many of the selections the editor used. 

"An enticing entree to the glories of Shakespeare's verse." 

~~ Kirkus Reviews

Appeal: The editor wisely pulled selections that might appeal to younger readers. However, there are some selections that lean heavily into romantic love such as “Let Me Not to The Marriage of True Minds,” and “Why Light Is Light, if Silvia Be Not Seen?,” and of course “O Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?” 

Overall Quality: The selected poems are rich, vibrant and very appealing. Children interested in Shakespeare will love the collection.  

 "A richly illustrated selection of 31 poems and excerpts from Shakespeare's most popular works. The selected writings provide a fantastic scope of Shakespeare's oeuvre. ... López's illustrations are intricate, dramatic, and moody; they help bring life and meaning to the words." 

~~ School Library Journal

Layout: The book has an introduction, poems, What William was Thinking section and an index. At the end of each poem there is also a short definition of difficult words.

Connections:
Spotlight Poem -

“Round About The Cauldron Go” 

(Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I)

"Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison’d entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights hast thirty one

Swelter’d venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." 

~~William Shakespeare

Sharing - This would be perfect for performance poetry.

Activity - Shakespeare for Kids