This collection of essays discusses various adaptations of Shakespeare for children, critical viewpoints of Shakespeare's plays and adaptations, and pedagogy in teaching Shakespeare to grades K-12. Probably most useful for teachers (though part 1 about adaptations could also be of interest to parents and librarians), I found in reading these essays that I had a definite opinion about my own approach to Shakespeare, story, or really any sort of convention that becomes ingrained. Each author has his or her own unique perspective, but agreed most with those who would "play" with Shakespeare's words or story, arguing that this is exactly what Shakespeare himself did when he rewrote the works of those who came before him. If his work is not entirely original, do we really have to hold his work up as untouchable?

Though I am not a teacher and would not find the pedagogy portion of this useful in any practical way, I enjoyed this exploration of Shakespeare as a fan of many of his plays and historical fiction about his times. Many of the books mentioned, both fiction based on Shakespeare's plays or more scholarly critical works found their way onto my TBR list. ( )