Tales from Shakespeare

by Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, Charles Knight, et al.

Book Overview

Beautifully told tales, a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's greatest plays. Charles and Mary Lamb's labour of love brings vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Othello, the fun of As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew, the magic of The Tempest and the drama of Pericles. Conveying all Shakespeare's wit, wisdom and humanity, and never losing the feel of his beautiful language, these tales are classic literature in their own right.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140366776
• ISBN13: 9780140366778
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 3 to 5 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Kindergarten

Customer Reviews

Received Adaptation

This does not contain the original text by Charles and Mary Lamb. It is “a modern adaptation” of that text.

Great intro for kids

When I first began homeschooling my children I came across this book. Since we were to soon see a high school production of Midsummer's Night Dream I read the Lamb version aloud to them before seeing the performance. The results were amazing. My children had no previous exposure to Shakespeare. The Lamb's ability to retain some of Shakespeare's original language greatly enhanced their comprehension. They loved the story and we able to follow the play with ease, laughing and clearly enjoying themselves much to the frustration of some nearby adults who were completely lost. This book helped begin their love affair with Sir William. I am of the opinion reading a well summarized version of his plays and then watching a well done performance will make any child appreciate the genius that is Shakespeare's work.

A Treasure Book

If you want to learn as a novice the tales of Shakespeare, then this is the book to read. A children's novel of his famous plays. Now to the English Shakespearean scholar this would seem like Shakespeare for dummies, but I would only partially agree. This is a great book to be introduced and gives a general framework before reading him. Even after reading this, its not an easy task trying to read Elizabethan English, which even the experts argue on some of the terms and expressions used. And so, this book lets you understand and I find its written rather well in Charles and Mary Lambs authorship. After reading this book, which also make good for second, third and fourth readings, I found it much easier to absorb a recent bio on Shakespeare which was very enlightening, Will of the World by Stephen Greenblatt and also other books which attempt explanatory meanings of Elizabethan English to his plays and sonnets. Now you know what the plays are about and go from there. This is a great book, I treasure it.

Read it as a child and now use it as a professor

I remember my father giving me this book when I was young. He was a junior high school english teacher and used this book in class. Together we read the stories and I loved them. Now I am a college professor and use the book in class myself. While some of the summaries are "dated," they are still useful in communicating the basic action of the play to students and the very fact that they are "dated" allows the book to serve as an illustration of how interpretations of Shakespeare's plays have changed since the Lambs' time. I recommend this book heartily.

A Great Introduction to Shakespeare for Kids

I love this book! I have always loved Shakespeare and wanted my children to enjoy the bard as well. I always read these stories to them before we watch a play on TV, video, or rarely, on stage. They are a step ahead in that they already know the plot and can then enjoy the language more fully. They are developing a love for Shakespeare, too!

Great Intro to Shakespeare

Although this book is written for children it is great for all ages and is great to get the basic story line before you go to a play. I read most of the plays in this book (I have not yet read all of them) when I was 11. Now that I have been reading the actual plays of Shakespeare I always start by reading the short version of the play in this book and than read the actual play. I can understand what is going on much better that way. I also recommend "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children" by Edith Nesbit which gives about ten page versions of each story verses the thirty pages per story in this book and also has a smaller vocabulary which makes it better for younger children.