Beautiful pictures -- painting really found throughout add to the poetry. This is a wonderful introduction to Shakespeare. It helps appreciate it and understand it. There are even some word explanations that really help with this understanding. I enjoy this book and it is helpful to understand the meaning and appreciate the beauty of these classic works. It is great for kids and anyone that wants a little extra help with Shakespeare.

I can’t give enough praises to this book. Not just from myself but even from my 6 year old daughter. She loved it and has asked me to read it to her almost every night since receiving it. The illustrations are phenomenal!

I loved this! The illustrations are beautiful and I like how at the end of each passage there is a glossary explaining the vocabulary. I also like the discussion topics at the end. This book is a great way to get young and old people to read and enjoy Shakespeare.

Will's Collected Hits, Annotated

This is a very nice find, either for a younger reader or for an adult who'd like to have a handy anthology nearby.

We open with a brief biographical sketch that would probably be of interest to a kid reader. The author keeps referring to Shakespeare as "William", which was a bit chummy, but it occurred to me that making Shakespeare less intimidating is probably a good thing. We then proceed without further ado to the selected pieces. Of interest, each piece is followed immediately by a footnote set of definitions and explanations for unfamiliar and archaic words. Again, very helpful in that Folger Library sort of way. At the end is an index of first lines.

There is also, at the very end, a listing for each piece accompanied by a one sentence summary of what the work was about. It's titled "What William Was Thinking", which again is pretty laid back, and the one line summaries/commentaries are actually perceptive and on point. You might not need a comment on, say, "The Quality of Mercy...", but a reader would probably benefit from being advised that "Over Hill, Over Dale" involves the elf Robin Goodfellow dashing about the countryside. While this is at the end of the book I'd point it out to a young reader right away.

As to contents, we get all of the big speeches, sonnets, and verses. There are 35 selections, and a bit of Richard, Puck, MacBeth, each Henry, Lear, Hamlet, Caesar, Romeo, and the rest of the gang.

I should also mention the illustrations that accompany the text. They appear to be along the lines of simple but expressive pencils and subdued watercolors and give the book a dreamy and fantastical, but also slightly modern, feel that adds a real touch of elegance to the project.

So, an excellent find and an interesting addition to the family shelf. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the editor or the publisher of this book.)