Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 7-10. Weaving together pieces of Shakespeare's text with chatty commentary and sumptuous, theatrical illustrations, this picture book makes the great drama of star-crossed lovers accessible without sacrificing the eloquence of the original play. On each double-page spread, Shakespeare's words are in bold type, explained and connected by Rosen's informal narrative (but their lovemaking had to stop when the talkative old Nurse came up to them ). References and a glossary are placed in a border on each left-hand page. Rosen frames the story with an account of the Elizabethan theater, and Ray's bright, meticulously detailed watercolors capture the original sixteenth-century Italian setting with a gorgeous sense of the costumed cast on stage. Some pictures evoke Shakespeare's imagery with an element of fantasy, as in the delicate view of the queen of the fairies in her tiny wagon. Romeo is brown-skinned; Juliet is white, and the most moving scenes show them meeting, talking, kissing, and then forever apart. Far from the usual bland retellings, this version will excite readers to seek out the play on stage. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2003 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The famed star-crossed lovers receive theatrical attention in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Michael Rosen, illus. by Jane Ray. Beginning with a cast of players on the first spread, this presentation incorporates informal passages and descriptions with portions of Shakespeare's original text to help elucidate the plot. Ray creates a magical world; borders around each spread emulate a stage, and scenes of Italianate landscapes alternate with dramatic moments such as a scene of the lovers at their most joyous. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9-This version of the eternally popular tale of star-crossed lovers uses clear, paraphrased prose and poetic lines quoted from Shakespeare's original to enable readers to comprehend the intricacies of the story's interwoven plots. The book begins with a short introduction to Elizabethan society and an illustrated explanation of the cast of characters. Dividing the text into acts and scenes, Rosen summarizes much of the action in language that maintains the integrity of the play. Shakespearean passages are highlighted in bold print and unfamiliar words are explained in sidebar definitions. The adapter's prologue and endnote place the narrative in the context of a theatrical performance. The prose is readable and will lend itself to young thespians wanting to dramatize either individual scenes or an abridged version of the whole epic. Ray's fine watercolor artwork, though stylized, realistically portrays the characters and climactic moments. The artist also uses some rather surrealistic images to suggest the content of Romeo's dreams. The eyes of her characters are particularly haunting in their intensity. Most of the illustrations are full page, but numerous smaller paintings further elucidate the text or break up longer passages. Subdued wallpaperlike borders repeating a design of ferns and feathers appear throughout. Taking a more scriptlike approach than Bruce Coville's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (Dial, 1999), this version will serve as a fine introduction, particularly in literature and drama classes, to perhaps the most romantic of Shakespeare's tragedies.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Alternating paraphrased prose with Shakespeare's original lines, this retelling of the story of ill-fated young lovers allows readers to follow the plot without sacrificing all of the Bard's eloquent language. Enhanced with touches of gold, Ray's romantic, jewel-hued art suits the play's tone and setting well. Students will find this straightforward adaptation easy to dramatize. A note on Elizabethan theater precedes the play. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Shakespeare fangeek Rosen has done the nearly impossible: produced an edited and elided version of the play both accessible and thrilling. He's aided in this by Ray's beautifully sumptuous watercolors. Rosen sets the stage and propels the story with his narrative descriptions linking Shakespeare's own words (cited by act and scene). He glosses unfamiliar vocabulary next to the running text, and at the end sends readers forth with the desire to see the play themselves. The key elements--political and familial rivalry; young and passionate love; missed and seized opportunity--are noted enough to illuminate their eternal verity, but not so much as to be hammered at. Ray's colors are rich, her line delicate, and her figures ripe and sensuous in magnificent counterpoint to the text. She borders each page spread with silken pattern, enclosing them like a stage set. She uses detail brilliantly: Juliet and Romeo look like creatures of Faerie with their hair in tendrils and their tender features; she employs vignettes of hands, flowers, and stars for emphasis. Students and teachers have been waiting for this one. (Nonfiction. 12+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
