Romeo and Juliet

Book excerpt: Perhaps the most famous of all romantic tragedies, this is the tale of two young star-crossed lovers and their families, who are caught in a destructive web of hatred. Shakespeare’s immortal dramas are now available in illustrated form for classroom use! This revolutionary way of introducing the timeless comedies and tragedies of the Bard of Avon combines the art form of the graphic novel with written passages taken directly from Shakespeare’s texts. Children first studying Shakespeare are sometimes intimidated by the difficulty of his language. They will often miss the excitement and suspense in his story lines and the fascination of the wonderful characters he has created. Approaching his plays in the form of graphic-novel-style picture stories, supplemented with excerpts from the original dialogue, can be a young student’s important first step in truly understanding and appreciating Shakespeare’s masterpieces. Preceding the action of each play, these books offer brief summaries explaining what the play is all about, followed by illustrated casts of characters, each character shown with a brief descriptive caption. Supplementing each title in this series is a separately available teacher’s guide that suggests topics for classroom discussion and advises on imaginative activities that fit the classroom environment and coincide with the five acts of each play.