If you, like me, went through a high school education studying Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, enjoying the sounds of the lines read out to you but not really understanding the true meanings of all the words, then this is the book for you.

Marguerite Tassi, a Shakespeare scholar for more than 20 years, introduces children to 31 of Shakespeare’s best known verses, sonnets and speeches. Beginning with ‘All the World’s a Stage’ from As You Like It and finishing with ‘Our Revels Now Are Ended’ from The Tempest, she transports us to the London theatres in the late 1580s. In her introduction she tells us how the young William Shakespeare was an actor but quickly came to realise that his talent lay in playwriting. And how his friends, after his death, collected all his handwritten plays and took them to a printer.

At the back of the book she provides a commentary on each chosen piece under the wonderful title ‘What William Was Thinking’ and definitions of difficult words on each page. With Merce Lopez’ superb illustrations on every page it’s Shakespeare brought back to life!

This is the book which I would have loved when I was 11 or 12 years of age. It would have been, as it is now, a fantastic introduction to the works of William Shakespeare and to the love of beautiful language.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 11+