Shakespeare: The Animated Tales Gift Volume II - " Othello " , " Taming of the Shrew " , " Julius Caesar " , " As You Like It " , " Winter's Tale " , " Richard III " Hardcover – Import, January 1, 1994

Got it used, from England, but it took way too long to get to me. I contacted them as it was past the expected delivery date. They were wonderful and sent me another. Of course, the very next day, it arrived. I contacted them to explain the issue, and they said to keep the second one, which I donated to our school library. The service was great.As for the text, it's abridged but not adapted and that's the wonderful thing. There is some narrative in between, but there are lines for characters just like the original language. It still holds a bit of bawdiness and remains true to his storylines. As for the word "animated," if that throws you like it did me, it means "illustrated." It is not, however, a graphic novel. I use it as a resource when teaching Shakespeare to middle schoolers. Would like to get each one of them. Definitely recommending this.

This seems as if it's only for children; it isn't at all. The author is well respected and has managed to shrink down many of Shakespeare's wonderful plays in a way that loses very little of the story, plot or themes. It's very good indeed.I used this along with the video to help a struggling A level student whose teacher chose one of the hardest plays, 'A Winter's Tale' (I ask you, who would teach this for A level, I ask you! ... A teacher who studied at at uni, I expect! (-; ).

An excellent purchase

Great book! My daughter loves it

What Leon Garfield has done here is fantastic. His abridged versions of the plays retain the Shakespearean language which makes them dramatic and magical, but make this cultural capital accessible to children (with some assistance)and to adults who want to do a little less wading when reading Shakespeare. I have used these texts to put on three Shakespeare plays with 10/11 year olds so far. Each play lasted 45-50 minutes, using these scripts. the illustrations are generally good too.So, in summary, Nice one, Leon!