Who Was William Shakespeare?

by Celeste Davidson Mannis

Book Overview

The beloved plays of Shakespeare are still produced everywhere, yet the life of the world's most famous playwright remains largely a mystery. Young Will left the town of Stratford to pursue theater in London, where his work eventually thrived and made him a famous and wealthy man. With black-and-white illustrations that include a diagram of the famous Globe theater, Celeste Davidson Mannis puts together the pieces of Shakespeare's life and work for...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0448439042
• ISBN13: 9780448439044
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Penguin Workshop
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.4" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Everything about the Bard in a nutshell!

Everything you need to know about Shakespeare, his life and times is put forth in this first-rate juvenile biography. Since little is known about Will Shakespeare, why waste time reading a lot of speculation? It is a marvel how Celeste Davidson Mannis creates many interesting asides in so short a space, including words and phrases that were coined by the Bard, an explanation of blank verse, what school was like, the politics of the time, big city London, and how the Globe Theatre came about. An abundance of B & W illustrations helps the reluctant reader along, but this is a worthy effort for any age reader who wants to know all there is to know about Shakespeare in a nutshell. Includes Bibliography, a timeline of Shakespeare's life, and a timeline of the world matching Shakespeare's dates.

A good way to learn about historical people

Reviewed by Gabriel Peralta (age 9) for Reader Views (5/08) I chose this book because I didn't know about William Shakespeare. After reading it, I learned he was an actor, and he wrote famous plays that are still read by people today. The book tells you about his life. You learn everything about him. For example, I learned the he moved to London because he wanted to be an actor. He worked hard and made a lot of money. I think these books are great if you want to learn about a famous person. I think kids my age will enjoy "Who Was William Shakespeare?"