The Tempest for Kids

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Sticking closely to the series format, Burdett retells the story of The Tempest in rhyming couplets. Her students' drawings filled in with clear bright marker colors, along with the children's boxed comments, provide the book's primary appeal. The main text is distinctly plodding-especially when compared with the original. While it's true that the simple couplets might be easy for an adult to understand at first glance, they are not exactly a breeze for early readers, the audience for this book. It would require almost as much effort to use this text for a performance (as suggested) as it would to perform scenes from the original work or to have children create their own improvisations on the story. Burdett's techniques for exciting children about Shakespeare certainly seem to work well with her own classes. It seems sad that other youngsters might be handed a finished product rather than the fun of creating their own interpretations. The final page contains suggestions for parents and teachers.Sally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The Vancouver Sun, March 4, 2000
... many original phrases joyfully intact, in rhyming couplets that retain the exuberant language play of the original.


Susan Perren, Globe & Mail, June 12, 1999
The couplets present Shakespeare in shortened form ... in a highly accessible way.


The Vancouver Sun, March 4, 2000
Many original phrases joyfully intact, in rhyming couplets that retain the exuberant language play of the original.


Book Description
"The Tempest" is an exciting tale of jealousy and betrayal, magic and romance, repentance and forgiveness, and has all the elements necessary to ignite a young child's imagination and creative energy. By her use of rhyming couplets, Lois Burdett has once again succeeded in transforming Shakespeare's complex verse into a format readily understood by children. Children's enthusiasm toward Burdett's adapted Shakespeare is evident in the wonderful drawings and anecdotes created by her Grade 2 and 3 students at Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario. Together with the five other books in the successful and beautifully produced "Shakespeare Can Be Fun!" series, "The Tempest" will delight teachers, parents and children. Lois Burdett has been bringing Shakespeare to her elementary school students for 20 years. She is in great demand throughout North America for her workshops where she teaches how to familiarize young children with Shakespeare. Among other commendations, Lois Burdett has received the Encyclopedia Britannica's National Award for Early Childhood Education. She has also been instrumental in prompting teachers to incorporate Shakespeare into the curriculum of early grades, helping foster a love of serious literature to last a lifetime.


From the Author
Shakespeare Can Be Fun! Most students will be exposed to the works of Shakespeare, typically in high school. The language and content of the plays is seen as too difficult for younger children but primary children are underestimated as to what they can accomplish given the challenge. The study of Shakespeare has become an integral part of my grade two program at Hamlet School, in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. When I first moved to Stratford, I had no intention of teaching Shakespeare to 7 and 8 year olds. Stratford is a beautiful city noted for its Shakespearean theatre and I was interested that the schools were all named after Shakespearean characters. I asked my class, "Who is William Shakespeare?" and "Why is our school called Hamlet?" Their answers were surprising. One thought he was a famous boxer. Another believed he was the President of Canada. A third student responded, "I don't know who William Shakespeare is. I don't know any of the big kids." It was the children's enthusiasm and excitement on making the connection between an historical figure and the name of their school, which led me to continue. Thirty years later I can't imagine teaching anywhere in the world and not introducing Shakespeare. The study provided tremendous growth, particularly in the area of language and communication and evolved into a learning experience of a lifetime. I have endeavored in my books and workshops for teachers to share the excitement of exploring with children, the timeless emotions and ideas of Shakespeare.


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Burdett, an elementary school teacher in Ontario, Canada, has been introducing children to the bard for some 20 years, and their enthusiasm is clearly evident in the drawings and descriptions that illustrate the pages of this rhyming couplet rewrite. Burdett simplifies the wording while carefully preserving the flavor of Elizabethian speech -- and even some of the vocabulary.


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