Remembering William Shakespeare & Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare Book Review

The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed.
Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London. (Wikipedia)

William Shakespeare was one of the most brilliant men that ever lived. And on this day, four hundred years ago, he died. He was 52 years old and died of a fever. Quite possibly typhoid. Now, I am in no way an expert on Shakespeare's life, (Although I watched a rather fascinating show on PBS called Shakespeare's Tomb.) but I wanted to honor his memory today. While his works are known and performed throughout the world, there is not much known about his personal life. In April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, William Shakespeare was

born to a leather merchant. The exact date of his birth is unknown, however, he was baptized on the 26th and is believed that he may have been born on the 23rd, the same day as his death. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The following years are known as the "lost years". There is not much known and much speculation regarding his life until 1592. Where evidence can be found that he worked as an actor and playwright. He went on to become one of the greatest playwrights the world has ever known!

I found my information for dates, names and such at Biography.com and from the above mentioned PBS show

Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare

I recently purchased this book from Usborne and am SO in love with it! I have always had a deep appreciation and fascination with Shakespeare's work. (So much so that one year for Christmas all I wanted was Barnes & Noble's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.) But I admit that at reading Shakespeare was a challenge when I was younger. Struggling to understand the language, I missed much of what was happening in the storyline. I am thrilled to have found this book for my kids. I thought, if they grow up knowing the stories, then maybe when it comes time to read the original plays, they will have an easier time. So far, my three year old LOVES this book! He has sat through Hamlet and was in high dudgeon that I had to borrow it to write this review. The illustrations are beautiful! And even though all of the plays are written so that young readers can understand them, some of the more famous lines from Shakespeare's works can still be found. I am thoroughly impressed and am so excited to introduce my kids to Shakespeare at a young age. Hoping to nurture and grow their love of literature. Check out this video to get a peek inside the book.

Contents:

Twelfth Night
Romeo and Juliet
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Macbeth
Hamlet
The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

by Rosie Dickins, Anna Claybourne, Lesley Sims, Conrad Mason, Louie Stowell, Christa Unzner-Fischer (Illustrator), Jana Costa (Illustrator), Serena Riglietti (Illustrator)

Purchase Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare from Usborne here.

Learn more about Shakespeare through Usborne's Quick Links.

Check out more Shakespeare books from Usborne here.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Comedy	History	Tragedy	Poetry
All's Well That Ends Well As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline Love's Labours Lost Measure for Measure / The Merry Wives of Win/dsor The Merchant of Venice A Midsummer Night's Dream Much Ado About Nothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter's Tale	Henry IV, part 1 Henry IV, part 2 Henry V Henry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III	Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus	The Sonnets A Lover's Complaint The Rape of Lucrece Venus and Adonis Funeral Elegy by W.S.