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DO you whine about having to go to school? Some mornings, does your mom yell at you to get moving? William Shakespeare felt your pain, and wrote about it, 400 years ago! His description of an unhappy student, "creeping like (a) snail unwillingly to school," comes from As You Like It, one of the 39 plays he is credited with writing. Most scholars consider Shakespeare one of the greatest writers in history and possibly the best at writing plays. He wrote funny plays and tragic ones with equal skill—not an easy thing to do. His work might seem more for adults, but some of his plays are terrific tales for kids, too. Since the 1700s his stories of kings and princesses, fairies and enchanted forests have been rewritten for young audiences. Washington DC, USA, is home to the Folger Shakespeare Library, the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare items. Paloma Alcala, 12, made the shoebox diorama of the forest in A Midsummer Night’s Dream that’s on display. It has purple and green fairies and spooky shadows. Paloma, a sixth-grader, has loved Shakespeare since her dad got her a comic book of his stories when she was six. She has read a dozen of his plays, most of them adapted for kids. "Macbeth is my favorite," she said. "It’s really cool. There are witches and prophecies and fighting and stuff. And the strongest character is a lady—Macbeth’s wife. Girl power!" — LAT/WP |
