Shakespeare Fun and Frivolity

Shakespeare fans who have room on their shelves and a box of freshly sharpened colored pencils will find good application for both with three fun and frivolous titles to add to their collection.

Pop-Up Shakespeare by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor, illustrated by Jennie Maizels. Candlewick Press, 2017. 10 pages

Now you can make more efficient use of your precious bookshelf space by using your fat Norton Shakespeare collection as a doorstop. Think how much time you’ll save by browsing this succinct pop-up version by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, which not only introduces the historical context of the plays, but also summarizes all the plots in only five three-dimensional page spreads. All of the tales, a fraction of the time and shelf space. Even the poems are included. Delightful fun.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet for Kids creatively edited by Brendan P. Kelso.
Playing With Plays, 2018. 101 pages

Once you know the essential plots, it’s time to perform. But why exhaust yourself and your audience when you can stage a drama in less than half an hour? Playing with Plays is a series created for groups of various sizes to enjoy as reader’s theater. Most of the speeches are summarized with contemporary language and mild slang, but phrases from the original are included and highlighted so we can pretend we’re using the true script.

William Shakespeare: An Adult Coloring Book by Odessa Begay. Lark Crafts, 2017. 96 pages

Ready to listen to an authentic audiobook version of a play? Pull out those luxurious Prismacolor pencils and this William Shakespeare coloring book. I’m sure the kids will fold laundry so you can color while everyone listens to an Arkangel production.

Want more Shakespeare recommendations? These resources are also available on Redeemed Reader:
Introducing Shakespeare’s Plays to Children
Shakespeare: Life, Theater, and Historical Context
Shakespeare Summer
Shakespeare Summer: General principles (and a difficult play)
Twelfth Night
Othello
Building a Shakespeare Home Library Collection