Hamlet: For Kids

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-This seventh series entry retells the story in rhymed couplets with illustrations by the author's students, ages 7 to 12. The style is lively and interesting, and some of the phrasing is humorous: "Meanwhile, King Claudius was still uptight./The cause of Hamlet's madness had not come to light." The fact that stage directions and speakers' names are included within the verses poses some difficulty when acting out the play. A very perceptive narrator would be needed to make it all come out just right. Boxed insets of children's rewritten segments of the play as letters or diary entries offer interesting insights into their perception of the characters. Since the colorful drawings represent the characters in a wide variety of styles, they lack a sense of unity. Activities are presented at the end of the book to extend the experience. This is a good source of ideas for teachers who want to use Shakespeare in their elementary classrooms. Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories (Houghton, 1991) is still the best retelling, but school libraries could make good use of this book.Carol Durusau, Newton County Public Library, Covington, GA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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Familiarizing young children with the complex plots of Shakespeare could be daunting indeed, but not so for Burdett. She does for Hamlet just as she did for Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. These plays have been transformed into rhyming couplets which can be easily understood by children as young as seven. Combined with the text are responses to the plot written by many of Burdett's young students. Some have responded from the point of view of characters in the play, where others have created a letter of advice to the players. Illustrations have also been done by the youngsters and they are indeed delightful! All the intrigue of the master writer is included—murder, deceit, insanity, love, and revenge. Hamlet, visited by the ghost of his father, realizes that the king was poisoned by Uncle Claudius who has taken his place. "My father is dead and my uncle is king, / By giving my mother a wedding ring." The plot twists and turns until the final couplet, "Good night, sweet Prince. I'll honour your bequest / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" As part of a social studies program, this book would be a wonderful read aloud—or better yet, how about staging a play. 2000, Firefly Books, and $8.95. Ages 7 to 12. Reviewer: Laura Hummel Read all 6 "From The Critics" >


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