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

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