This retelling in prose of twenty of Shakespeare’s thirty-seven plays was originally published just for children. Keeping Shakespeare’s own words whenever possible but making the plots and language easily understandable, this very listenable collection has entertained and informed generations of adults as well. With such classic stories as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, and more, Shakespeare’s most memorable characters come to life anew as magicians and fairies, fools and kings weave their magic, mischief, and madness.
Contents include:
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Winter’s Tale
Much Ado about Nothing
As You Like It
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Merchant of Venice
Cybeline
King Lear
Macbeth
All’s Well That Ends Well
The Taming of the Shrew
The Comedy of Errors
Measure for Measure
Twelfth Night
Timon of Athens
Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Othello
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
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"Thank God for Charles Lamb! His choice of Shakespearean works turned out to be a beautiful trail-mix of salty-sweet stories that just keep you going. This is in no way a boring read, but while it is quite condensed and easy to understand, it still stays true to Shakespeare's "Ye-Olde" style of story telling plus it provides you the basic skeleton of his stories, enabling you to better understand the original work itself should you decide to read more of ol' Will later on."
— Ultimotomasino (5 out of 5 stars)
“Conquering the distaste for knowledge and learning which so frequently opposes itself to the instruction of children; and we do not scruple to say that, unless perhaps we except Robinson Crusoe, these volumes claim the very first place, and stand unique, without rival or competitor.”
— Critical Review, 1807“The Lambs’ Tales is the granddaddy of all Cliff Notes and may be the only one that qualifies in its own right as a work of literature. These narrative retellings of 18 of Shakespeare’s plays don’t attempt to reproduce the plays’ structure or dramatic qualities, but recast the stories into narrative form with freedom and dexterity.”
— AudioFile" Great for introducing Shakespeare to children. "
— Tina, 2/10/2014" It wasn't a bad introduction to Shakespeare when I was a kid. Even though I'm not a big fan of abridgments or adaptations, I felt like this was okay. "
— Klawr, 2/8/2014" Found the hard back second hand and listened to much of the audio together. Anne listened to quite a bit on her own too. "
— Verena, 2/4/2014" The kids begged for more Shakespeare. No, really, they did. Although it was a difficult read aloud with all of it's run on sentences, this was a wonderful version of Shakespeare. Not overly simplified but easier than reading the plays. I had intended to read one story a month to them but ended up doing one or more a week! "
— Amber, 2/4/2014" Easy to read and understand. A good intro to Shakespeare and his works. "
— Riki, 2/2/2014" My first introduction to Shakespeare as a small child and it was such a good way to read the stories "
— Pat, 1/30/2014" Man, the most difficult words of English.. I could never understand Shakespeare's language.. Anyway, done with Macbeth and R&J... loved both of 'em.. "
— Sundeep, 12/21/2013" This was the only form of Shakespeare I could tolerate to read. I wish I still had my copy! "
— Natalie, 12/13/2013" A good summary of some, but not all of Shakespeare's plays. The authors at times put in their own feelings about characters motivations and such but that's to be expected from works of the time. A good introduction for younger readers of Shakespeare. "
— Staci, 11/29/2013" This is the most basic break down I have ever read of Shakespeare's work- it's great to familiarize yourself with a particular piece before reading and dissecting the original version. I also highly recommend as a way for younger readers to get a feel for the bard. "
— Tamera, 9/17/2013" I always did love Shakespeare :3 "
— Laurel, 9/15/2013" This re-taling of Shakespeare classics is great. I enjoy reading them to my chilren. They are shortened a lot but the language is not over-simplified. The book was written in 1807 and a lot of the wording is directly from the original plays so my younger children don't understand everything. "
— Jennie, 9/7/2013" The taming of the shrew-I think that Katharine had a very bad temper. I think that Petruchio was crazy to want marry Katharine. 7/11 "
— Littlemama, 9/6/2012" I have copies of this book on each coast - in the hopes of reading stories to my niece and nephew if I can get them to sit still long enough. "
— Megan, 7/16/2012" These retellings make me want to re-read the plays, and see the ones that I have missed. "
— Katie, 5/23/2012" I have had this book for at least 15 years and this is the book that made me fall in love with the stories by Shakespeare. "
— Tierra, 5/12/2012" This is an amazing book because Charles and Mary Lamb make Shakespeare obtainable if the language is perceived as difficult to understand. They bring the stories alive! This book created mt love or Shakespeare and gave me an idea of how to approach the original books "
— Alexia, 1/24/2012" One of those childhood classics. I don't think I've read it all, but I did read the complete works of Shakespeare instead. "
— Valerie, 10/26/2011" Read it last year. We read A Midsummer night's dream Hamlet and a few others. Now he wants to read Macbeth. "
— Neem, 9/7/2011" Especially for Lovely Lucy. My intellectual grandaughter. The best beginner's Shakespeare. Easy read and very entertaining. "
— Peacenow, 9/4/2011" This is the copy I bought for my children in 1976 which is a fascsimile of the 1909 Edition and is illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Whenever I attend a Shakespearn play, I not only read the play, but read Charles & Mary Lamb's synopsis. It's a great resource. "
— Etta, 8/29/2011" This books helps to take Shakespeare out of "play" format into story-telling - great for reading with the kids - and an intro to the much longer play and old-English format. "
— Lisa, 6/22/2011" I got more than half-way through this and only neglected to finish it because it was due back at the library. Wonderful summaries of the plays I have read, and the summaries of the ones I hadn't read made me want to read them. "
— Christina, 5/31/2011" this is a very good pre-shakespeare book for kids. the tales are told in a story line instead of a play scrpt, so i find it easier to follow!:) it is also a good read-aloud. "
— Jtz, 4/6/2011" this is a very good pre-shakespeare book for kids. the tales are told in a story line instead of a play scrpt, so i find it easier to follow!:) it is also a good read-aloud. "
— Jtz, 4/6/2011" If you're a fan of short stories and suck at interpreting prolific sentences, this book is for you. This is a good introduction for people who wants to meet Shakespeare's works but too lazy to read them. <br/> <br/>It's like reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology, easy, breezy, reading but satisfying. "
— Ana, 2/8/2011" If you're a fan of short stories and suck at interpreting prolific sentences, this book is for you. This is a good introduction for people who wants to meet Shakespeare's works but too lazy to read them. <br/> <br/>It's like reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology, easy, breezy, reading but satisfying. "
— Ana, 2/8/2011" I have had this book for at least 15 years and this is the book that made me fall in love with the stories by Shakespeare. "
— Tierra, 2/1/2011" I have had this book for at least 15 years and this is the book that made me fall in love with the stories by Shakespeare. "
— Tierra, 2/1/2011" a good way to introduce children to the stories of shakespeare's tales if not his gift of words. "
— Michele, 12/2/2010" a good way to introduce children to the stories of shakespeare's tales if not his gift of words. "
— Michele, 12/2/2010" This books helps to take Shakespeare out of "play" format into story-telling - great for reading with the kids - and an intro to the much longer play and old-English format. <br/> "
— Lisa, 10/30/2010" This books helps to take Shakespeare out of "play" format into story-telling - great for reading with the kids - and an intro to the much longer play and old-English format. <br/> "
— Lisa, 10/30/2010" Well, I certainly thought it was easier to read these stories (though there were a lot of annoyingly simply spelling mistakes) than the original Shakespeare. :) "
— Michelle, 10/25/2010" Well, I certainly thought it was easier to read these stories (though there were a lot of annoyingly simply spelling mistakes) than the original Shakespeare. :) "
— Michelle, 10/25/2010" aaah oh now I get it "
— Kate, 8/3/2010" aaah oh now I get it "
— Kate, 8/3/2010" Especially for Lovely Lucy. My intellectual grandaughter. The best beginner's Shakespeare. Easy read and very entertaining. "
— Peacenow, 6/22/2010" Especially for Lovely Lucy. My intellectual grandaughter. The best beginner's Shakespeare. Easy read and very entertaining. "
— Peacenow, 6/22/2010" One of the best books to lead any young person into the plays of Shakespeare beautifully. I loved these as a child and it has been fun reading them to my kids. Its still as fresh now as I remember it. A joy. "
— Angie, 5/21/2010" One of the best books to lead any young person into the plays of Shakespeare beautifully. I loved these as a child and it has been fun reading them to my kids. Its still as fresh now as I remember it. A joy. "
— Angie, 5/21/2010" It wasn't a bad introduction to Shakespeare when I was a kid. Even though I'm not a big fan of abridgments or adaptations, I felt like this was okay. "
— Clarmelia, 5/17/2010" It wasn't a bad introduction to Shakespeare when I was a kid. Even though I'm not a big fan of abridgments or adaptations, I felt like this was okay. "
— Clarmelia, 5/17/2010" This book was a great adventure for someone as unenlightened as me. All of Shakespear's plays are summarized in a neat 10-20 pages and include famous or/and pivotal quotes. "
— Becky, 5/3/2010" This book was a great adventure for someone as unenlightened as me. All of Shakespear's plays are summarized in a neat 10-20 pages and include famous or/and pivotal quotes. "
— Becky, 5/3/2010" I've had this book for like five years and have yet to finish all the stories in here. Pathetic. "
— 3/17/2010" I've had this book for like five years and have yet to finish all the stories in here. Pathetic. "
— 3/17/2010" This book was a good introduction to some of the plays I haven't read yet and a good review of those I have studied. "
— Giselle, 2/12/2010" This book was a good introduction to some of the plays I haven't read yet and a good review of those I have studied. "
— Giselle, 2/12/2010" This isn't the exact edition I don't think, but it's close enough. Charles and Mary Lamb do an excellent job of translating several Shakespeare plays into modern, simple English prose for children. "
— Rachel, 2/11/2010" This isn't the exact edition I don't think, but it's close enough. Charles and Mary Lamb do an excellent job of translating several Shakespeare plays into modern, simple English prose for children. "
— Rachel, 2/11/2010Charles Lamb is the author of the AL:ICE series of science fiction novels. He was raised in the Southwest, survived a tour of duty in the Pacific Northwest, and now resides in Florida with his wife and three dogs.
Mary Lamb (1764 –1847) was an English writer, the sister and collaborator of Charles Lamb. She is best known today for her collaboration with Charles on the collection Tales from Shakespeare. She and Charles presided over a literary circle in London that included the poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, among others.
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.