Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

Michael Rosen (editor)

Jane Ray (illustrations)

Walker Books, UK: 2004

ISBN: 0744588243

Genres: drama, literature

This version of the Bard's most famous romantic tragedy is the product of an inspired partnership between two of England's best-recognised names in children's literature.

Rosen, a well-regarded poet and children's author, has abridged the play by interspersing his concise plot summaries between the more comprehensible and better known speeches. This has been done most skilfully, and the simple, lively language of the abridged sections merges surprisingly smoothly into the original dialogue between characters. In this way the most significant and well-loved passages from the play are retained in their original form, including the balcony scene and most of the other exchanges between the youthful lovers. The text that Rosen has created remains faithful to both the language and structure of Shakespeare's play, and is perhaps more comprehensible than the original to modern readers who are approaching the work for the first time.

Jane Ray's beautiful watercolours use rich, intense tones with touches of gold, full of exquisite details that will especially appeal to highly visual readers. Each character is identified in a pictorial presentation of ‘the players' at the beginning of the book. This enables listeners or younger readers to follow the story through the extensive and expressive illustrations. Borders on each page carry act and scene references that encourage readers to compare this interpretation to its source. These borders also provide a glossary of some of the more difficult words such as colloquialisms of the day.

Created with a great deal of affection and respect for this famous play, this is definitely a book to be shared with readers of all ages, whether they already know and love Shakespeare or are just beginning their journeys with the Bard.