Shakespeare: His Work and His World - Hardcover

Michael Rosen is an award-winning author and anthologist of books for young readers including CLASSIC POETRY: AN ILLUSTRATED COLLECTION, illustrated by Paul Howard. A lifelong Shakespeare fan, Michael Rosen says of this book, "When I was a kid, I was often taken to see Shakespeare’s plays, and my parents helped me to get hold of what was special about Shakespeare. I’ve written this book in hopes that I can do something along the lines of what my parents did for me."

Robert Ingpen was born in Australia in 1936 and has published more than one hundred acclaimed books. In 1986 he was awarded the highest international accolade for his work, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration.

Rosen's (Classic Poetry) compelling text and Ingpen's (Who Is the World For?) dramatic paintings invite readers into the "extraordinary and dangerous times" in which the Bard wrote his famous plays. The narrative and design divide into distinct sections ideal for browsing. To set the stage, Rosen introduces "A Plot!" and details how, in 1598, to avoid paying their landlord, actors covertly pulled down the timber from the Curtain theater to reconstruct the Globe (a portion of which Shakespeare owned) on the opposite side of the Thames. Most chapters begin with engaging, chatty rhetorical questions (relayed, however, in a sometimes distracting typeface) such as "What's So Special About Shakespeare?" and "So How Does Someone Stay That Famous?" Some metaphors, such as comparing Shakespeare's plays to a "house full of many amazing rooms," become a bit strained, but the narrative benefits from liberal quotation of Shakespeare's plays. Rosen effectively sets the historical context and reconstructs and imagines the events and circumstances of Shakespeare's life, while also demonstrating the surprising and pervasive extent of his linguistic legacy. Ingpen's atmospheric paintings evoke the romance of the era and capture the pageantry of the plays. A strong and worthy companion for readers exploring Shakespeare. Ages 12-15.

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