“There is no darkness but ignorance”
– Twelfth Night
With school closures impacting 50 million children across America, and a challenging transition to remote learning, many parents are seeking supplementary material to enrich their children’s academic experience during COVID-19. Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available to introduce children of all ages and reading levels to, arguably, the greatest literary figure in the English-speaking world, William Shakespeare. Playwright, poet, philosopher, The Bard, as he is known, has been credited with penning nearly 40 plays and over 150 sonnets, and coining 1,700 of the vocabulary words and phrases we use today. Below, we share a mix of accessible biographies, abridged versions of his works, and video tutorials that will cultivate interest in Shakespeare’s life, his Elizabethan era, and the wordsmithing craft that he perfected.
The Shakespeare Stories Collection – 16 Books
Retellings of sixteen of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. This is a great introduction for young readers age 6 and up.
Who Was William Shakespeare?
Explore the origin story of the world’s greatest playwright, from his time in Stratford to a career in theater in London.
Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare
This nonfiction picture book covering his life, his times, and his theater, is best enjoyed by children ages 4-6.
Shakespeare Stories
Author Leon Garfield carefully transforms twelve of the playwright’s plays into stories, and includes vivid illustrations to capture readers’ imagination.
Shakespeare Stories II
And when the first book leaves your kids clamoring for more, you can move on to the second volume, for nine additional plays: Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, Cymbeline, King Richard the Third, The Comedy of Errors, and The Winter’s Tale.
Tales from Shakespeare
This volume, first published in 1807, includes accessible adaptations of all of Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies.
And AFTER you have read all of these works with your children, be sure to watch these helpful Sparknotes videos to reinforce concepts, such as character development, plot, setting, and important themes.
Oops! We could not locate your form.
Read related content:
Book Highlights Advances in Digital Education, Policies to Unlock Its Benefits
Houston Supt. Mike Miles on Urban School District Reform
UK Uni. of St Andrews’ Sir Hew Strachan on the First World War
MA Teacher Kelley Brown on Founding Documents, U.S. History, & Civics
Harvard’s Leo Damrosch on Robert Louis Stevenson & Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stanford’s Anna Lembke, MD, on Dopamine Nation & Addiction
AZ Trinity Arch Prep’s Jack Johnson Pannell on Educating Boys
U-Ark’s Robert Maranto & BASIS Ed Texas’ Sean Woytek on Academically Intensive Charter Schools
U-Ark’s Randall Woods on John Quincy Adams: Statesman of the Early Republic
FEE’s Kerry McDonald on Joyful Learning, Microschools, & Homeschooling
Dr. Gil Troy on Theodor Herzl – Father of Zionism & Combating Antisemitism
UK’s Dr. Kathryn Hughes on George Eliot, Middlemarch, & Victorian Novels
Florida’s John Kirtley on School Choice
NYT Bestseller Jane Leavy on Reforming Major League Baseball
BU Law’s Keith Hylton on Intellectual Property, Patents, & the Law
Pepperdine Law’s Pulitzer Winner Edward Larson on 100th Anniv. of Scopes Monkey Trial
Alisha Searcy on Center for Strong Public Schools
