Shakespeare's Quill, Vol. 8

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

In this title from the series "Stories of Great People," readers learn that William Shakespeare's family had lived in the Stratford-upon-Avon area for a long time. Shakespeare's father was the town mayor. William was the third of seven children, and he received a classical education, but the family often ended up in dire straits. His father was imprisoned because he could not pay his debts. It may be that this spurred Shakespeare to study hard, and one fascinating fact is his extensive vocabulary, which is 10 times that which kids use today. Shakespeare married an older woman at the young age of 18 and had a child soon after, but little is known about the next five years of his life. Sadly his son Hamnet died at the age of 11. Shakespeare spent most of his time in London where he joined an acting company—the Queen's men. It was, however, a dangerous time both for playwrights and citizens as often the entertainment was cruel. According to the book you could not dress like those above your rank unless you were an actor. Shakespeare himself performed before royalty at court and that is where Shakespeare learned about court life. The kids in this series, Digby and Hannah, seem to spend a lot of time trading digs with each other, but they also manage to impart some information. They try on costumes and talk about the plays. The closing pages are interesting—there are many myths and stories that have circulated about Shakespeare and this section clarifies fact and fiction. The book contains a table of contents, an index, a brief glossary and an introduction to the cast of characters. The illustrations all have a cartoon quality, which should appeal to today's readers. Reviewer:Marilyn Courtot