Andrew Matthews, The Guardian

April 22, 2014

Shakespeare Stories author Andrew Matthews fell in love with Shakespeare when he was 11-years-old. Here he picks out his 10 favourite Shakespeare books for children on the eve of the Bard’s 450th birthday – plus tells us about the challenges of adapting Shakespeare’s plays for children.

When I was 11, my Mum bought me a Complete Works of Shakespeare, plonked me down in front of the TV, and switched on An Age of Kings. This was a BBC series that adapted eight of Shakespeare’s history plays for television. I followed the text as I watched. The play was full of intrigue, treachery, betrayals, murders, battles, and rude jokes; by the time it finished, I was hooked. Shakespeare’s beautiful language had dazzled me. Of course, at that age I didn’t understand all the words, but I fell in love with the way they sounded.

1. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

This classic retelling has remained in print since 1807. The tales are true to the originals, and include much of Shakespeare’s dialogue. However, the Lambs edited out anything they thought unsuitable for impressionable young minds. In their version of Twelfth Night, for instance, there is no mention of Malvolio, Sir Toby Belch, or Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Modern readers might find the style a little dry and long-winded, but this is the book that set the standard for all Shakespeare adaptors. […continued]

0000