Tales from Shakespeare: Children's Classics (ISBN 0517205742)

Sweet short stories:
Obviously, if you're an older reader well accustomed to the world of Shakespeare, this is NOT the book for you. These are "children" versions of Shakespeare plays. They're short, sweet, and a little simple, obviously. While they still have the same mature content as the plays, it feels more toned down. You've got it all, really. Whatever Shakespeare play you love, you'll find it here, from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to "Macbeth" and through "Hamlet". The stories are obviously the same, but the style is different. They feel a little like fairy tales, which is kind of the point. Children's stories, but of some of the greatest classics of all time. These stories are fun to read, but don't think they're superb literature. They are a good way to spend an afternoon, but for older readers, the plays are still the way to go. This is better for older children and preteens who aren't quite ready to read Shakespeare himself, but can understand the stories themselves. I recommend it, but don't expect something incredible.

Tales From Shakespeare: 20 of the plays retold in prose for children by the Lamb siblings:
The Bard meets the Lambs. Charles and Mary Lamb wrote "Tales from Shakespeare" in 1807. The book retold twenty of the plays in prose being geared at children. Children who read the stories today would need to be very bright and advanced in their reading comprehension. Many of the sexual scenes and several of the subplots in these complex plays have been removed by Mary and Charles. The Lambs were siblings who were plagued with mental problems throughout their sad lives. Mary stabbed her mother to death during an insane episode. The courts allowed her to live at home with her brother Charles who was a lowly clerk at the East India Office. Charles is famous for his essays though Mary wrote the majority of the play summaries in this classic book Mary wrote on 14 of the comedies and romances while Charles provided chapters on the tragedies of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear. Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Timon of Athens. The book is short but essential in giving the reading a quick review of the plays. It is easy to get lost in the complex plots and the Elizabethan language and poetry in the plays. This book makes it easy to understand the basic plots and characters in the tales. The book is an introduction to Shakespeare; it no way is it designed to replace the plays; the purpose is to whet the desire to read and see Shakespeare acted on the stage. Even veteran Shakespearians such as your reviewer found delight in this small book. I will turn to it often to refresh my memory of who is who and what is going on in the Shakespearean universe. The Lambs' book is essential reading.

Ideal for family reading hour:
The Lambs' classic book is an ideal read-aloud text and a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for young readers and listeners. We've found it suitable for our older children especially -- ages 7 and up. Each "tale" takes around fifteen minutes to read, and although some of the vocabulary is rather elevated, vocal inflection and emphasis can aid comprehension. The Lambs have done a commendable job of capturing the drama of each of Shakespeare's plays in a 10-12 page narrative format. Highly recommended.

tales from shakespeare:
no table of contents. horrendous to navigate. frankly shameful that they would sell it this way.

A great First Step:
I have used this with now seven children for home schooling. No, it's not Shakespeare's Shakespeare, it's Charles and Mary Lamb's rendition. It is a great way to introduce the Shakespeare to a younger child as a way to get a grasp of the story. Then we read the real Shakespeare version and you are able to enjoy the story and the way Shakespeare writes without trying to figure out the characters, plot etc. And I might add, it is a good way to become familiar with the tales if you are an adult too. So, my advice is to read this first and then most definitely read the real author himself.