Macbeth: A Shakespeare story

Macbeth: A Shakespeare Story

Andrew Matthews 

Illustrations: Tony Ross

As the title suggests, this book is the story of Macbeth. It has been shortened and written in modern language so it is easy for children to read. It also has lots of illustrations all the way through so it breaks up the pages from just text.

The story has kept all the main aspects of Shakespeare’s original story, however it has removed some aspects so the story is less complicated and shorter. Although the language has been changed, at the beginning and the end of the book there are short quotes from the original play so as to demonstrate the original language.

The story has been split up, not through chapters, but through page breaks, which would provide good stopping points for children. These occur with a change in scene so there is a definite change for children to understand.

At the back of the book there is some information given about the inspiration for Macbeth, about Shakespeare himself and the Globe theatre.

The start of the book includes a cast list page, similar to what would be given in the play version, as well as a short contents page, which children could explore.

I used this book myself to provide a quick reminder to the story of Macbeth when my class came to study the story. I found it quick and concise in the story and did help provide a reminder. I also think it could be used as an introduction to historical stories for children to be inspired by.

Matthews, A. (2003) Macbeth: A Shakespeare Story. London: Orchard Books.