William Shakespeare & the Globe Review

William Shakespeare & the Globe
Written and Illustrated by Aliki
HarperCollins, May, 1999
Picture Book, 48 pages.
Reading Level: All Ages
ISBN: 006027820X.

William Shakespeare & the Globe by Aliki

William Shakespeare & the Globe written and illustrated by Aliki is an absolute treasure for both parent and child to enjoy together. In a time when once again the public at large have come to love the experience of Shakespeare, here is a book that you really share with a favored child or a class of children.

There are many special features of this book that will serve for an introduction not only to Shakespeare but to those who have labored long to preserve his words and thoughts for contemporary minds and hearts.

Aliki weaves the story of Shakespeare and the London theater scene of that special time in the history of the English language that straddled the 16th and 17th centuries. There are quotations at the bottom of each page, some more familiar than others, that can be shared by reading aloud. The book is illustrated with the kind of humorous cartoon figures so beloved by children. The interweaving of the life and accomplishment of Sam Wanamaker and Theo Crosby with the newly built replica of the Globe links the 20th century to earlier times. But the favorite pages will no doubt be the extensive list of now familiar phrases and words that Shakespeare actually put together first.

--Sarah Reaves White

Ordering information: Amazon.com.