Ann Keay Beneduce, Author, William Shakespeare, Author, Gennady Spirin, Author Philomel Books $16.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-399-22764-6
Prospero-like in their artistry, Spirin's dazzling watercolors dominate this retelling of Shakespeare's final play. Shaped like altar panels fit for a Renaissance church or palace, the illustrations are romantic, regal and magical, richly...
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Bret Lott, Author, William Shakespeare, Author John F. Blair Publisher $18.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-89587-140-4
The undercurrents, both numinous and tragic, in the lives of grocery-store clerks, salesmen, janitors and other ordinary folk are revealed in this breathtaking second story collection (after A Dream of Old Leaves) from novelist Lott. Thanks to...
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William Shakespeare, read by a full cast. S&S Audio, , unabridged, 3 CDs, 3 hrs., $19.99 ISBN 978-1-4423-8154-4
At the core of one of Shakespeare’s most recognizable plays is the self-admitted villain Richard III, the misshaped humpback, who with malice aforethought works his way up the royal family tree to become the tyrannical bloodstained King of England,...
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William Shakespeare, Author, Bruce Coville, Retold by, Tim Raglin, Illustrator Dial Books $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2318-4
Bruce Coville's latest adaptation of one of the Bard's masterpieces, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, illus. by Tim Raglin, will forsooth elicit applause-and laughter-from youngsters as it transports them to ancient Illyria where not all is...
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William Shakespeare, read by a full cast. L.A. Theatre Works, unabridged, two CDs, 2 hrs., $25.95 ISBN 978-1-58081-838-4
Audio productions of Shakespeare’s work can be a challenge to execute, but L.A. Theatre Works delivers a gripping full-cast dramatization that keeps listeners engaged from start to finish. When Macbeth is told he will one day become king of Scotland,
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William Shakespeare, read by a full cast. Blackstone Audio, unabridged, three CDs, 2.5 hrs., $19.95 ISBN 978-1-4708-8532-8
Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers are brought to life in this full-cast production with sound effects and a musical score. Based on a performance at the 2012 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this adaptation of the classic play is set in California in...
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William Shakespeare, Author, Bruce Coville, Author, Dennis Nolan, Illustrator Dial Books $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-8037-1784-8
Coville follows up his version of The Tempest (see p. 84) with a retelling of another of Shakespeare's most popular plays. The fundamental story of magic, mischief and the trials and tribulations of love is preserved through well-chosen use of the...
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Lisbeth Zwerger, trans. from the German by Anthea Bell. Minedition (IPG, dist.), $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-988-8341-28-3
Zwerger crafts a lovely and contemplative staging of Romeo and Juliet. Brief excerpts from the play introduce sections of original and readily accessible prose: “Friar Laurence was rather surprised to find that Romeo had changed his mind so soon,...
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William Shakespeare, Author, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Read by, Ewan McGregor, Read by , read by a full cast. Naxos Audio $22.98 (0p) ISBN 978-962-634-929-8
Shakespeare's legendary tragedy is revisited in this spirited and entertaining production that ran in London from November 2007 to February 2008. The flawless, talented cast features Ewan McGregor as the conniving Iago, Chiwetel Ejiofor as...
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William Shakespeare, Author, Gareth Hinds, Adapted by Candlewick Press (MA) $21.99 (68p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3024-9
Fans of the play will find this an intriguing adaptation. Hinds sets his version in modern dress and dramatically edits the text to the basics while keeping the Shakespearean flavor of the dialogue (increasingly as the book goes on). The coloring in
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William Shakespeare, Author, Ted Hughes, Selected by Farrar Straus Giroux $15 (216p) ISBN 978-0-374-12278-2
Admired since the 1950s for the primal force of his own verse, former British poet laureate Hughes (1930-1998) also won praise in his home country for numerous projects of editing, literary criticism and translation, among them this enlightening...
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William Shakespeare, Author, Leon Garfield, Author, Nikolai Serebriakov, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers $6.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-679-83875-3
Based on an HBO animated series, these condensations emphasize the dramatic content of some of Shakespeare's best known works. As abridged by Garfield in consultation with a panel of scholars, the books on the whole retain the magic of Shakespeare's
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William Shakespeare, read by Alan Cumming. Simon & Schuster Audio, unabridged, 2 CDs, 2 hrs., $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4423-5593-4
Shakespeare's tragedy about the ill-fated thane of Cawdor is brought to life via this one-man interpretation from Alan Cumming. Motivated by his scheming wife, Macbeth lusts for and then takes power, which leads to regicide and his own undoing....
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Julius Lester, Author, William Shakespeare, Author, Julius Lester, Adapted by Scholastic $14.95 (151p) ISBN 978-0-590-41967-3
More than a retelling, this aptly termed ""reconceptualization"" provocatively modernizes Shakespeare's play. As in the original, the middle-aged general Othello the ``moor'' and young European noblewoman Desdemona fall in love and marry secretly....
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Bruce Coville, Author, William Shakespeare, Author, Ruth Sanderson, Illustrator Yearling Books $6.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-440-41297-7
PW called this adaptation ""an admirable introduction"" to Shakespeare's play, and drew attention to the ""old-fashioned oil paintings [that] capture both ethereal spirits and the heavy brocade of the period setting."" All ages. (Oct.)
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Margaret Early, Author, William Shakespeare, Author, Margaret Early, Illustrator ABRAMS $18.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-3799-4
Adults looking for a dramatically abridged version of Shakespeare's tragic love story with some lovely backdrops of Verona may find something to savor in Early's (Sleeping Beauty; William Tell) picture-book rendition. She gives a nod to several...
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