Will's Words How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You TalkBy: Jane Sutcliffe / Illustrated by: John Shelley"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue..."from Hamlet, Act III, sc. iiWhen Jane Sutcliffe sets out to
Will’s Words
How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk
By: Jane Sutcliffe / Illustrated by: John Shelley
When Jane Sutcliffe sets out to write a book about William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, in her own words, she runs into a problem: Will’s words keep popping up all over the place! What’s an author to do? After all, Will is responsible for such familiar phrases as “what’s done is done” and “too much of a good thing.” He even turned “household words” into household words.
Jane, however, embraces her dilemma, writing about Shakespeare, his plays, and his famous phrases with glee. What better words are there to use to write about he greatest writer in the English language than his very own? As readers will discover, “the long and the short of it” is this: Will changed the English language forever.
Backmatter includes an author’s note, a bibliography, and a timeline.
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Jane Sutcliffe, author
Jane Sutcliffe is author of Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be, The White House is Burning: August 24, 1814, and more than two dozen other books for children. Jane lives in Tolland, Connecticut.
Read more about Jane Sutcliffe.
John Shelley, illustrator
John Shelley grew up near Shakespeare’s birthplace at Stratford-upon-Avon. He has illustrated more than forty children’s books, including Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be and Family Reminders. John lives in Norwich, England.
Read more about John Shelley.
School Library Journal,, starred review
Focusing on the now commonplace words that Shakespeare introduced into the English language, Sutcliffe describes the inner workings of the Globe Theatre and the Bards genius. The verso of each spread presents historical facts about Elizabethan London and the theatrical tradition it spawned, with Shakespeares words interspersed amid Sutcliffes lively prose, while the recto highlights the words, explains their meanings (both original and contemporary), and cites their usage in the poets plays. Shelleys meticulously detailed painted pen-and-ink drawings brim with life and convey a clear sense of 1606 London, a bustling, jostling, clinging, singing, stinking, head-chopping, pickpocketing wonder of a city, while still managing to individualize the personages both onstage and off. They are perfectly married to Sutcliffs concise, humorous, fact-filled prose. While the author references the few known truths of Shakespeares life, the emphasis is on his once-inventive but now familiar words, thus setting this title apart from most standard biographies. Readers will discover the origins of basic terms and expressions, such as hurry, fashionable, and cold-blooded. The book opens and concludes with a letter from Sutcliffe laying out her intentions in penning this work and discussing what we know of Shakespeares life. Pair this gem with Diane Stanley and Peter Vennemas Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare (Morrow, 1992) for a full portrait of Shakespeares genius. VERDICT A beautifully presented, original approach to the playwrights lasting contributions to the English language.
Kirkus Reviews
Sutcliffe presents an enjoyable, if slightly rocky, introductory reconnaissance into Shakespeare’s wordplay. Shakespeare could turn a phrase, and Sutcliffe brings a number of them to readers’ attention, smartly worked into a vest-pocket history of London theater during Shakespeare’s days. Shelley’s artwork is a lively accompaniment, delicate in color and linework but bustling as only a big population in small confines can be. Each double-page spread presents a few paragraphs of text about London theater on verso, the occasional word or phrase printed in boldface. On recto are boxed items that give the meanings of the highlighted wordsand how some have changed considerably: “wild-goose chase” meant a horse race with the leader and followers in the shape of geese in flight; now it means a useless search. The location of the words in Shakespeare’s works is also provided, and there’s a handy timeline at the end of the book. There are gems”too much of a good thing,” “a sorry sight,” “foul play” (“fair play,” too)but then there are some complete mysteries: “excitement,” “fashionable,” “well behaved,” all of which underwhelm. Why bother with these when there are so many goodies to choose from? “Crack of doom,” “break the ice,” “brave new world”treasures all. Still, even if what’s done is done, there is absolutely no need to knit a brow or make short shrift of this well-tempered piece of work.
Booklist
Despite both title and subtitle, the value of this picture book lies in its delightful, realistic illustrations and the simple text’s introduction to Elizabethan theater. About 30 terms Shakespeare either coined or made common are included meaningfully in the narrative, a pair or so on each two-page spread. The narrative itself explains the place of theater in Londoners’ daily lives (for both audience members and actors), the Globe Theatre’s architecture, and how Shakespeare’s verbal richness spread into daily figures of speech. But it’s the illustrations that steal the show. Each spread is crowded with intricate, colorful details that seem to spring to life in, for instance, a cutaway of backstage actions, the crowd arriving for an afternoon’s performance, how different social classes positioned themselves during the play, London street scenes, and so on. These watercolor and pen-and-ink images invite endless searching of the crowds’ unique faces and Thames River vistas.
The Shakespeare Standard
Reviewing new books is a job full of excitement particularly when theyre as beautifully presented as Wills Words. With illustrations to rival Wheres Wally (or Wheres Waldo on the other side of the pond), this book will keep readers young and old engaged. Although marketed primarily to 7-10 year olds, Wills Words kept this twenty-something absorbed.
Begun as a book to tell the story of Shakespeare, the Globe and early modern theatrical life, Sutcliffe opens with a disclaimer: Shakespeare kept getting in the way. (Well you know what they say.. Where theres a Will theres a way..). Not the ghost of Shakespeare past, dont panic. Just his words those he made up, and those which his plays introduced to the common vernacular.
Read more of this review.
School Library Connection
Jane Sutcliffes masterful prose and John Shelleys astonishing illustrations make this book a potential first selection for all libraries in this country. Sutcliffe explains the origins of everyday phrases drawn from Shakespeares work. The roots are always found in Shakespeares many plays. Readers will be interested to learn how the phrase for goodness sake emanates from Henry VIII, and Whats done is done comes from Macbeth. Young readers will get a sense of the beauty of the English language and adults will be astounded at the numerous phrases that dripped from Shakespeares pen. The illustrations are so detailed they fairly jump off the page, and there is humor in the individual faces and expressions. Readers will also learn much about the Globe Theater and England itself. Repeated readings of this book would be necessary because there is so much to learn and to take in. A definite purchase for every library.
Brightly
As any Shakespeare lover can tell you, the Bard of Avon had a widespread and lasting impact on the English language. This picture book biography chronicles his life, accomplishments, and the words and phrases he made famous. It will surprise you how many everyday sayings come from his plays.
Download the CoverDownload the Activity Guide with Readers’ TheaterDownload the Activity Guide Answer Key
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-58089-638-2
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-58089-669-9
E-book
ISBN: 978-1-60734-855-9 EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-60734-856-6 PDF
Ages: 7-10
Page count: 40
10 x 10
Correlated to Common Core State Standards:
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Informational. Grade 3. Standards 1-5, 7, 8, 10
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Informational Grade 4. Standards 1-5, 8, 10
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