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Authors Kristen McDermott and Ari Berk have created a stunning multi-dimensional, well-organized adventure of a book that reveals enticing trivia and details from the life and times of poet and playwright William Shakespeare.
The gorgeous, heavy-bound, oversized book looks like a treasure from the past, with a magnetic, split front page. Some of the chapters included are:
- Childhood Days and Stratford Ways, about Shakespeare’s life growing up in London.
- Learning, Leisure and Labour, which reveals the beginning of his trade and skill as a writer and reader; how he came to love books and language.<./li>
- Husbands, Wives and Family Lives introduces the reader to Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s beloved wife, and how she influenced his life.
The other chapters also reveal much details about the times, from the working and history of the Globe Theatre to life in London and the people, trends, mindset, culture, and superstitions at the time.
Each chapter includes written narrative (in handwriting font) as told by Shakespeare, while other text boxes are written in the third person. The text gives both a feel for Shakespeare’s poetic use of language and a sense of the culture of the time. Most of the pages include envelopes containing letters, fold-out flaps or pull-out pages.
The team of three illustrators—Ian Andrew, Eloise Lambert and Diz Wallis—have done a tremendous job of creating illustrations that enhance the already-fascinating text, allowing the book to appeal to an audience in a wide age range. Each double-page spread is visually stimulating, with eye-catching colours and layouts.
William Shakespeare: His Life and Times (Historical Notebooks) is a gloriously informative and decorative book for children and adults of all ages. Highly recommended.
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William Shakespeare: His Life and Times (Historical Notebooks)