Pop-up Shakespeare / illustrations, Jennie Maizels ; text, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Learn about all of Shakespeare's plays in one book!

Read about William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems as you never have before in an entertaining pop-up book collaboration between the internationally known comedy troupe the Reduced Shakespeare Company and best-selling illustrator Jennie Maizels. Featuring five interactive spreads filled with dramatic pop-ups, fun foldouts, hilarious summaries, and fascinating commentaries, this is the perfect introduction to one of the world's greatest playwrights and his enduring works.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

"How much do you know about Shakespeare himself? Not much? No worries! Nobody else does, either." Famous for its condensed versions of the Bard's plays, the Reduced Shakespeare Company, a traveling comedy troupe, offers a delightfully irreverent tour of his work, assisted by pop-ups, flaps, and Maizels's equally playful cartooning. After an introduction to Shakespeare the man, four pop-up spreads collect his comedies, histories, romances, and tragedies, combining capsule summaries with pithy takeaways (for The Merchant of Venice: "Always read the fine print"). Despite the conciseness with which the plays, sonnets, and poems are discussed, plenty of historical context is provided, and the pages are packed with information-recaps of several plays appear on the reverse sides of the flaps and pop-up castles and seascapes. For readers intimidated by Shakespeare, it's hard to imagine a more entertaining way to get a sense of what these classics are about. Ages 7-10. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-7-William Shakespeare's plays and poems get an immersive, pop-up treatment in this vastly enjoyable guide to the bard's complete works. Plays are organized by theme: comedies, histories, romances, and tragedies. Pop-ups and lift-the-flap pieces reveal small bits of information about each of his plays and several of his sonnets. Comedic, cartoonish illustrations give the gist of each play with exceedingly pithy verbal summaries. Each play is synopsized by a "Long Story Short" factoid, such as for The Taming of the Shrew, "Some people really deserve each other." Romeo and Juliet is condensed to "Teenage marriages are almost always a bad idea." The oversize book also contains fun facts, favorite quotes, and historical details about Shakespeare's life and times. In fact, the first spread is dedicated to Shakespeare's Stratford and London, words most likely invented by him, his poetry, and evidence of his younger years. There is some quite interesting analysis included; for example, a brief discussion of why three of his comedies are considered Shakespeare's "problem plays." (The answer is that they are not really all that funny!) The book is well designed, although the layout of some of the text under the lift-the-flaps is awkward in some spots. VERDICT For students wondering why there is so much fuss about Shakespeare, this is the perfect blend of information and fun. However, it won't hold up for many circulations.-B. Allison Gray, Goleta Public Library, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Is it possible for one not-very-large volume to contain pop-up summaries of the Bard's every play and poem, with representative scenes, settings, quotes, and historical notes?Leave it to the managing partners of the Reduced Shakespeare Company to manage the deedwith plenty of help from Maizels (Pop-Up New York, 2014, etc.). She places brightly costumed actors (all white except for Othello) on both sides of numerous flaps and pop-up forests, tempests, and throne rooms while somehow preserving gaps to rest the eye and leaving space for the snarky commentary. The fast-break literary tour begins with a spread of general background, including a stand-up model of the Globe (the immolation of which while hosting Henry VIII resulted in "the only exciting performance of that play ever"), then goes on to devote successive spreads to the comedies, histories, romances (including sonnets and other poetry), and tragedies. Each work comes with an opinionated summary of its plot and major themes, plus a summary of the summary"Much ado leads to much I do!' "; "The couple that slays together stays together"snatches of more-or-less actual dialogue, and a famous line or two. Broader themes, from all the cross-dressing in the plays and the notion of "comic relief" to the anti-Semitism in Merchant of Venice, rate mentions. There's even an entry for the lost play Cardenio.The plays are really the thing, but these concise and often hilarious takes offer tantalizing hints of their enduring value, along with their content. (Informational pop-up. 12-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.