The Boy and the Globe by Tony Bradman and Tom Morgan-Jones
| The Boy and the Globe by Tony Bradman and Tom Morgan-Jones | |
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| Category: Dyslexia Friendly | |
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Reviewer: Anne Thompson
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| Summary: This lively and enjoyable tale would be an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for young readers. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 192 | Date: March 2016 |
| Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1781125038 | |
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This lively and enjoyable story is set in early seventeenth century London where young orphan Toby Cuffe is living on the streets where life is hard. In order to survive, the resourceful Toby joins the gang of boys who work for Moll Cut-Purse as thieves. Moll sends Toby to the Globe Theatre to do some pickpocketing where Toby becomes so engrossed in the play being performed that he forgets about his own safety. Caught by the theatre's owners Toby meets the writer of the play he has just seen performed, the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Then our young hero is given an opportunity that he had not expected. Toby is full of enthusiasm for the theatre and rekindles the Bard's enthusiasm too so that together they team up to save the threatened theatre.
Published to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death this story would be an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for young readers. There is enough historical detail to give a sense of time and place and yet this exciting story never has the feel of a history lesson. By depicting Shakespeare as a world weary man with writer's block and a wish to go home to see his family Tony Bradman cleverly brings him to life in a way that children will probably enjoy. The wonderful illustrations by Tom-Morgan-Jones, slightly cartoonish in style, work well with the text too.
Barrington Stoke are publishers who specialise in creating books that are dyslexia friendly and this story is one of their Conkers range aimed at readers of about 7 – 10 years old. The typeface and colour of the paper are chosen specifically with this in mind. However, in my experience this type of book is enjoyed by all sorts of readers. It is of a manageable length and the size and appearance is suitable for readers, both boys and girls, who may be put off by weightier books with pages of dense text. This book has the added attraction of funne activities for boys and girls at the end of the story. These include double page spreads of both London and The Globe with items for readers to spot, some Shakespearian insults to try out on your friends and guidance on making your own puppets. The publishers also have helpfully provided a downloadable Make your own Globe Theatre and a child friendly script of The Tempest on their website, all of which make this book a super package for use at home or in school.
Thank you to the publishers for providing this review copy.
If reading this story prompts a child to want to find out more about William Shakespeare the man, then Bookbag recommends William Shakespeare: Scenes from the life of the world’s greatest writer by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Boy and the Globe by Tony Bradman and Tom Morgan-Jones at Amazon.com.
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