Reviews: (by author)

Mulherin, Jennifer and Abigail Frost. The Best-Loved Plays of Shakespeare. Illus. various artists. New York: Star Bright Books, 2000. $24.95. ISBN 1-887734-62-7.

I've been researching the various books presenting Shakespeare to under-12 readers for a couple of years now and have seen quite a range from troublingly poor versions for children as young as second grade to some fine productions in picturebook format. (See also Lois Burdett's R&J For Kids: Shakespeare Can Be Fun! and Hilary Burningham's R&J. The Graphic Shakespeare Series.)

That said, it is immediately easy to see why this superb production by Star Bright has been reprinted several times over the past decade. I hope it long stays in print; I hope too that it becomes available in paperback for wider distribution.

Mulherin and Frost's version falls into the category of Shakespeare books for children that summarize most of each selected play's text into contemporary prose while retaining key original passages in boxed-off inserts. Here the format works extremely well for several reasons: 1. the prose renditions are well written, fast paced, and set off in easy-to-read, bold-headed, short paragraph recapitulations of scenes from the plays 2. ample white space on each page creates an uncluttered layout conducive to absorbing all the material and 3. the art work by several notable artists is magnificent, conveying the pathos, excitement, and pageantry of the plays. The painting of the witches in Macbeth, for example, is stunning-not a group of ladies you'd like to meet on a lonely moor. The book's design features many kinds of placements of art and inserts so that the eye is always intrigued.

This is a book for families and classrooms to share and treasure as they pour over the ten plays-comedies such as the beautifully-illustrated A Midsummer's Night Dream and As You Like It to sensitively-presented tragedies such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and yes, even Othello. An Introduction provides a biography of Shakespeare and "The Life and Plays of Shakespeare" at the end provides a chronological summary of key events in his life; an Index is also included. Another valuable feature is found at the end of each play: a summary character analysis of the key players. This isn't as playful a production as Marcia Williams' fanciful books, but it is more substantial and informative, a fine gift for Shakespeare lovers from 8 years old and up.

Highly recommended
Alida Allison, February 2004

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