Will's Words - a review

Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk by Jane Sutcliffe.  Illustrated by John Shelly.  2016, Charlesbridge. 

According to author Jane Sutcliffe's note, she intended to write a book about the Globe Theater and its famous playwright, but found she was more interested in the way that William Shakespeare's words (even the invented ones!) have become so ingrained in our everyday speech. 

The end result is somewhat of a hybrid.  Two types of text boxes are placed upon each double-spread, full-bleed illustration.  One contains an account of life in the time and milieu of William Shakespeare,

Good plays need good playwrights.  And the most brilliant playwright in London was Mr. William Shakespeare. From butchers and bakers, to lords and ladies, everyone looked forward to the excitement of a Will Shakespeare play.

While the other explains one or more of Shakespeare's words,

WILL'S WORD: Excitement
WHAT IT MEANS: A feeling of "Bring it on!"  This was a fairly new word in Will's time.  He helped people get excited about "excitement."
WHERE IT COMES FROM: HAMLET, ACT 4, SCENE 4.  There's a lot of excitement in Hamlet's family.  And not the good kind.

The "Will's Word" text boxes are displayed on a facsimile of parchment paper - a nice touch.  If John Shelley's illustrations don't necessarily capture the squalor of the time, they certainly capture the essence of living in a seething mass of humanity.  The pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations are positively teeming with activity - providing opportunity for exploring hundreds of small details in each scene.

I chose to highlight one of the shorter passages.  However, there are more than fifteen scenes packed with information presented in a lively, conversational tone that will keep readers' attention.  Teachers should love this one.

The book goes on sale today.  Look for it on a library shelf soon.  If you choose to purchase it, you will receive the gift of more words from Shakespeare, your "money's worth."


Author's Notes, Timeline, and Bibliography are included.

• Download the Activity Guide with Reader's Theater for Will's Words here.

Note:
My copy of Will's Words was provided by the publisher at my request. 

The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth - a review

Bruce Coville has done wonderful adaptations of several Shakespearean plays for a young audience, while staying faithful to the mood and dialogue wherever possible.  Now, however, there's a new, edgier, funny Shakespeare in town.  You may have seen many adaptations for the works of Shakespeare, but you've never seen them done like this. 

I present The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue. I was laughing out loud on the very first page!

Lendler, Ian. 2014. The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth. New York: First Second.

(Advance Reader Copy)

A hilarious, graphic novel version of "Macbeth" as performed and attended by the denizens of The Stratford Zoo after the keeper has left for the evening. 

Join them in their seats (avoid the skunk!), grab a snack of rotting carrion from the vendors, and enjoy the play!  Panels featuring frequent audience commentary are done in darkened tones to denote the dim lighting of audience seating.  The play's action onstage is presented in bold color.

See interior images at First Second's website.

Intermission occurs when the zookeeper makes an unexpected late-night sweep of the zoo's grounds.

If you're a humor or comic book fan, Lendler and illustrator, Zack Giallongo, present this Shakespeare classic "as you like it" - brief, humorous, and to the point. Teachers and parents, this is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for the young people in your life.  

(Alternatively, read it yourself and then head out to see some Shakespeare in the park this summer! I'll be seeing Shakespeare by the Sea.)

Due on shelves in September. This is the first in a series.  Look for "Romeo and Juliet" next.

Dandelion Wine

Bradbury, Ray. 2007. Dandelion Wine. Narrated by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air, et al.
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

I downloaded Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, thinking that I was choosing Bradbury's classic 1957 novel - a bittersweet recollection of 12-year-old protagonist Douglas Spaulding's magical summer of 1928 in Green Town, Illinois. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by a full-cast dramatization of the story by the Colonial Radio Players, narrated by Jerry Robinson. No expense seemed to be spared in the creation of this audio play - the large cast, sound effects, and orchestral soundtrack were flawless.

I wondered how the venerable Mr. Bradbury would rate the audio rendition, and was answered by the post-play narration. Mr. Bradbury, himself, dramatized Dandelion Wine.

This audio version is a new way to enjoy one of America's timeless classics! At only 114 minutes (2 discs on CD), it's hard not to find the time.

Acting Out

Chanda, Justin (Ed.) 2008. Acting Out. New York: Atheneum.

Acting Out is a compilation of six plays by noted children’s authors, Avi, Susan Cooper, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck. Besides being written by talented authors, the plays have something else in common. Using a technique used in improvisational acting, editor Justin Chanda asked each author to submit a word that must be used in each play. The resulting words, hoodwink, dollop, raven, knuckleball, panhandle, and Justin appear in every play. Part of the fun is noting how the author works in the unusual additions.

Note how “raven” appears in Richard Peck’s play, “Effigy in the Outhouse,” which takes place in the year 1910. One of his characters, Edna, the eldest and bossiest student in the one-room school house, yells out, “Stop all your rantin’ and raven. I declare, you’re all like hogs turned into an orchard.”

The plays are varied in style and content. The plays are mysterious, life-like, whimsical, environmental, historical, and more. Although Richard Peck’s humorous look at children in a one-room schoolhouse is my favorite, Sharon Creech’s spoof on the publishing industry is a hoot as well! A young Edgar Allen Poe, is trying to seal a deal with a modern day publisher,

TRISH: Ah yes, strategies, et cetera. The two-word title is OUT. Out, out, out!
POE: Out?
TRISH: Quite, Out. Your use of “The” is fine, mind you. Absolutely terrific! But we need “The something-something.” You follow? … “The Raven Code,” perhaps? “The Raven KNUCKLEBALL”? Or better yet. “Something-something and the something-something.” Let’s say “Polly Raven and the Silver Chalice, “ mm?

This book is perfect for older reader’s theater groups or school groups. A note of caution, though – although its title is Acting Out, any group wishing to perform these plays, must obtain written permission from the publishers. Performance rights will, however, be granted without charge to non-profit groups.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

After languishing on the waiting list for over 3 months, I finally received a copy Laura Amy Schlitz's of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! this year's Newbery award winner. This choice must have taken the library by surprise; our original order was only for two copies.

Set in a medieval manor in England, 1255, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! is a set of soliloquies by the juvenile inhabitants of the manor. ( exceptions are the two-actor plays featuring Mariot and Maud, the glassblower's daughters, and Jacob and Petronella, a Jew and a Christian that meet by the river) Children from all layers of society are represented in short, one-act plays of 5 to 7 pages. From Hugo, the lord's nephew, to Giles, the beggar, the daily lives of children on a feudal manor are starkly presented and neatly interwoven.

The language is appropriate for both the age and the period, and much is written in verse form - some rhyming, some not. From "Drogo: The Tanner's Apprentice"

"I don't mind the stink -
I grew up with it, being the son of a butcher.
Dead things stink; that's the will of God,
and tanners make good money.

I don't mind the work -
digging the pits
grinding the oak bark
smearing the hides with dung.
Work is work. I like
bread in my belly
and ale in my cup. ..."

Unfamiliar words and occupations are accompanied by footnotes; and short, 1 or 2 page explanations of various aspects of medieval life (The Crusades, falconry, etc.) are interspersed between the plays. A generous bibliography (the author is a librarian!) completes the book.

The artwork by Robert Byrd is reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts of the period. The ink and watercolor illustrations are of the typically flat design, lacking in depth and realism - common to the period and perfect for this book! Pages are bordered by wide, richly-colored, vertical "ribbons."

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! brings history alive as no text book can. Readers can understand the misery of being the miller's son (they were roundly disliked!) or the uncertainty of life as a plowboy or runaway. This book might also make a good choice for a Reader's Theater presentation. I think I'll give it a try.