Synopses & Reviews
The Bards enduring genius is both explained and explored for young readersa perfect companion for both students and teachers of Shakespeare.Tongue-tied. Dull as dishwater. Without rhyme or reason. Leapfrog. Excellent. Gloomy. These words and phrases, so much a part of our daily language, were coined by William Shakespeare more than four hundred years ago. In what other ways has Shakespeare shaped and influenced our words and culture? Find out with Michael Rosens fascinating exploration of the enduring genius of the greatest playwright in the English language, SHAKESPEARE: HIS WORK AND HIS WORLD. Learn what theatre was like when Shakespeare created and acted in his plays. With dramatic illustrations by Robert Ingpen, the fluid text is sprinkled with Shakespearean quotations to re-create the Bards world of kings and queens, fairies and potions, and bloody beheadings. This sweeping account is a biography, a history, and a retelling of some of Shakespeares most famous playsall in one approachable volume.
Synopsis
This sweeping account is a biography, a history, and a retelling of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays, all in one approachable volume. Full color.
About the Author
Charles Dickens is best-known for his contributions to the world of literature:and#160;
Oliver Twist, Greatand#160;Expectationsand
Aand#160;Christmas Carol.and#160;and#160;In
Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London, acclaimed historical author Andrea Warren shares with readers the motivations behind Dickens' novels and then brings readers headlong into the poverty-stricken world of 19th century London. During his youngand#160;life, Dickens witnessed terrible things:and#160;families starving in doorways, babies being "dropped"and#160;on streets by mothers too poor or too sick to care for them, and most of all he witnessed a stunning lack of compassion from the upper class.and#160;and#160;After
hisfamily went into debt and he found himself working at a blacking factory (where boot polish was made), Dickens, who had been raised to believe that the lower classes were not only undeserving of anything better, but were so dirty that he could be contaminated by them, soon realized that they were no different than he, and even worse, they were given no chances to better themselves.and#160; It was at this blacking factory that he met a kind friend named Boband#160;Fagin, who would go on to be named one of Dickens' most memorable (and villanous!) characters in
Oliver Twist.and#160;and#160;
At 25, Dickens became the toast of London with his first novel,Theand#160;Pickwickand#160;Papers.and#160; People of all classes read it - the poor would pool together money to purchase this serial novel.and#160; But Dickens had more serious stories to tell:and#160;he wanted to tell of the workhouses were small children toiled for their entire lives; he wanted to tell of all the horrible things he had seen the upper class turn their back to.and#160; He wanted to tell one child's story, and that child became Oliver.and#160; With the runaway success ofOliver Twist, and it's memorable "Please sir, I want some more," Dickens was thrust into the public spotlight as a spokesman championing the rights of the deserving poor.and#160; His time as an instrument of social change was just beginning.and#160;and#160;Along with some contemporaries in the world of music, art and education, Dickens changed school systems, hospitals, and orphanages, all while representing the lowest class with the same respect as the upper class in his novels.and#160;and#160;
Spirited, smart, and handsome, but not without his own demons and personal issues, Charles Dickens is an enigmatic character whose name is recognized the world over, but whose achievements outside the literary realm are not often discussed.and#160;Charles Dickens and the Street Children of Londonmelds these two legacies in an intriguing, compelling and fast-paced biography, filled with historical images and photographs.and#160;
In 1996, Houghton Mifflin published Andrea Warren's first nonfiction book for young readers,Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story, which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.and#160;Andrea travelled toand#160;London to do extensive research for this book; she has a master's degree in British Literature from the University ofand#160;Nebraska. Andrea lives inand#160;Kansas.