SHAKESPEARE FOR KIDS HIS LIFE AND TIMES 21 ACTIVITIES

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Kids can experience William Shakespeare's England and get their first taste of the Bard's sublime craft with this lively biography and activity book. Staging swordplay, learning to juggle, and creating authentic costumes like a flamboyant shirt with slashed sleeves or a lady's lace-trimmed glove bring the theater arts to life. Making a quill pen and using it to write a story, binding a simple book by hand, creating a fragrant pomander ball and a dish of stewed apples show what daily life was like in Elizabethan times. Inspired by scenes from Shakespeare's plays, kids can invent new words, write songs, and devise scathing or comical insults just as he did. Fascinating and accurate historical information and 21 fun activities open a dramatic new world of learning for children ages 8 and up.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-While there is a competent biography of Shakespeare hidden in these pages, it's a bit hard to find amid the hodgepodge of projects and random sidebars that pop up throughout the text, occasionally unrelated to the subject under discussion. Craft suggestions include a quill pen, pomander balls, and a decorated glove. (Shakespeare's father was a glover, and sometimes the inspiration for a craft is as vague as that.) There are also instructions on how to juggle, fence, or write a sonnet. While much of the material could possibly be used in a student production or Renaissance festival, the book lacks a cohesive purpose. There is not even an index to guide users. The black-and-white illustrations, liberally sprinkled throughout, are primarily reproductions or photographs, which are occasionally grainy and hard to decipher. Clearly an enthusiastic labor of love, this effort is ultimately a disappointment.-Sally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.