The Children's Shakespeare

This single-cassette recording is a re-release of the 1999 Grammy winner for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. It's frankly hard to see how it garnered that prize. The narrations themselves are generally fine, but the seven abridgments (dating to 1907 and including PERICLES and THE WINTER'S TALE, in addition to the familiar HAMLET, KING LEAR, and ROMEO AND JULIET) are precious, humorless, and so brief that they inspire no interest in the plays. Adapting Shakespeare for children has been done so much better--notably by Leon Garfield, whose marvelous work has been recorded by Chivers. Perhaps this reviewer doth protest too much, but the production is further sunk by the distracting ambient music. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Any attempt to introduce the beauty of Shakespeare to young people should be applauded. This production--based on selections from the 1907 classic BEAUTIFUL STORIES FROM SHAKESPEARE FOR CHILDREN by Edith Nesbit (author of THE RAILWAY CHILDREN)--may be the best starting point. Winner of the 1999 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, this program includes seven (the package incorrectly states "eight") stories, masterfully adapted from Shakespeare's best-known plays. Linda Hamilton's reading of AS YOU LIKE IT is exceptionally good, as are Robert Davi's interpretation of A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM and Patrick Macnee's THE WINTER'S TALE. Some of the choices for readers are questionable, as is the use of incessant elevator music running in the background of the entire tape. S.E.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine