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Brick Shakespeare
I was getting such a kick out of looking at the pictures in these books that I almost forgot I was reading Shakespeare! Illustrated with photos of Lego mini-figures set into scenes, your student (and you!) will read the Bard's classic tales in a way that is just so...different & unique. The Comedies includes: A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and the Taming of the Shrew. The Tragedies includes: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar. Each story is carefully abridged, reading as a comic book would with dialogue boxes next to the photos. Helpful narratives introduce the scenes and explain extra detail that is not in the script. I thought the graphic novels we carry for Shakespeare were brilliant; this is another creative way for students to better understand these plays which can be so difficult to interpret. I had to chuckle at the Jarjar Binks minifigure being used as Bottom in Midsummer Night and the funny greenery stuck to Puck's plastic yellow head. It appears that facial expressions have been carefully painted on and used to express emotion in the photos. Eyebrows are furrowed and the ends of mouths are turned downward. It is just a hoot! I think I recognized Sam from the Hobbit Legos being used as Ariel in the Tempest. At the beginning of each play, you are introduced to the Lego characters playing the Shakespeare characters. From someone who remembers reading Shakespeare in high school and finding the characters so hard to follow, I can appreciate the visual appeal of this sort of presentation. I would have remembered Jarjar as Bottom and been better able to follow the story. Large books have glossy pages that should stand up to years of use. Pb, ~345pp. ~Sara
