The Read-Aloud Home

Why We Should Introduce Shakespeare to Young Children (and How to Make It Fun)


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What's in this episode?

  • For many of us, getting through Shakespeare at school was difficult and tedious. Turns out, it doesn't need to be that way.
  • In this episode, actor Isabel Burton shares lots of different ways to make Shakespeare fun and engaging for young children.
  • I have included some of my favourite children's books of Shakespearen plays or his life.

Books, plays and humans mentioned:

  • 'Macbeth' (1605) by William Shakespeare
  • William Shakespeare (playwright)
  • The Bell Shakespeare Theatre Company
  • 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1595) by William Shakespeare
  • The Bell Shakespeare Players
  • 'Romeo and Juliet' (1968 film by Zeffirelli)
  • Elizabethan (1558-1603) and Jacobean (1603-1625) London
  • Queen Elizabeth I
  • King James I
  • 'Sam Stars at Shakespeare's Globe' (2006) by Pauline Francis, illustrated by Jane Tattersfield
  • 'As You Like It' (1599) by William Shakespeare
  • 'The Lion King' (1994) (Disney)
  • 'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" (1998) (Disney)
  • 'Othello' (1604) by William Shakespeare
  • 'Just Macbeth' (2009) by Andy Griffiths
  • Puck's final speech in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Act V, Scene 1)
  • 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (2021) by William Shakespeare, illustrated by Jane Ray

Recommended books for primary school-aged children:

  • 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (2021) by William Shakespeare, illustrated by Jane Ray
  • 'Sam Stars at Shakespeare's Globe' (2006) by Pauline Francis, illustrated by Jane Tattersfield
  • 'The Story Orchestra: A Midsummer Night's Dream' (2024) by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, Music by Felix Mendelssohn
  • 'The Shakespeare Stories' (2014) by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross
...more
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The Read-Aloud HomeBy Laura Cunningham