William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale

by Bruce Coville Narrated by A. C. Fellner

Overview

"There is a disease that can twist men's hearts and make them mad, and the name of that disease is jealousy." So begins this engaging retelling of one of William Shakespeare's last plays-a fascinating and unique combination of intensity and whimsy. When King Leontes unfairly accuses his wife of infidelity, he sets off a terrible chain of events. But this is not one of Shakespeare's tragedies. It's a romance, and one with a healthy dose of fancy and surprise. A story of redemption and the strength of friendship and true love,*The Winter's Tale*is perhaps also Bruce Coville's most eloquent retelling yet.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9
Coville once again offers a prose introduction to one of Shakespeare's often-produced plays. Polixenes, King of Bohemia, is ending his visit to his childhood friend Leontes, King of Sicily, when, after the prodding of the queen, he decides to stay longer. Immediately Leontes flies into a rage, convinced that Hermione is unfaithful. Before his jealous passion can be subdued, he loses his son, his wife, his trusted servant, and his daughter, and plunges his once-peaceful kingdom into a court of terror. Sixteen years later, Paulina, Hermione's faithful servant, unveils a lifelike statue of the queen that Leontes longs to kiss. When Paulina orders the "statue" to descend, the king discovers that both his wife and his daughter are alive, and the sorrowful court becomes once more a place of joy. The play's fanciful elements and happily-ever-after ending will have special appeal for girls weaned on fairy tales and eager for romance. The text, ever faithful to the original play, includes poetic lines quoted appropriately within the story to introduce the Bard's language and style, and the tale is easy to follow, despite the plot's many twists and turns. Unfortunately, the watercolor and gouache paintings, though rich in color and realistic detail, sometimes lack conviction in the characters' expressions, and the figures' physical proportions appear somewhat distorted. Still, they elucidate the important moments and help to clarify the sometimes-confusing elements. While these illustrations do not have the power of those in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996) or Twelfth Night (2003, both Dial), this retelling will serve as an excellent introduction to one of the Bard'slater plays.
—Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

One of Shakespeare's more problematic romances gets a picture-book treatment in Coville's new rendition. Jealous King Leontes suspects without reason that his wife and best friend are having an affair. Despite the protests of his most trusted advisors, he sentences his wife to death and demands that her newborn babe be cast into the wilderness. There the child is discovered by a kindly shepherd and raised as a peasant until the day a wayfaring prince falls in love with her. In true Shakespearean fashion, all works out well in the end with true identities discovered, families reunited and multiple weddings to boot. For a tale of suspected infidelity and death, author and artist do as much as they can for what boils down to a fairly adult story. Some judicious editing of the text would not have been out of place-the character of Autolycus weighs down an otherwise succinct narrative. Yet the cleverly selected direct quotes and theatrical watercolor and gouache images make this a more than adequate companion to the original play. (Picture book/play. 7-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171934002
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

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