I really like the books in this collection, they're great for making Shakespeare accessible to younger learners, or to students like mine who speak English as a second language.
I did Much Ado About Nothing at school and loved it, and think this little book makes a great addition to the learning resources available.
I'd love to see online versions of this material., like powerpoints and resources for teachers, if that is something the publishers are interested in doing,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Newman has produced another great Shakespeare adaptation that can be enjoyed by younger readers. As an “older” reader I enjoy it myself! It is accompanied by wonderful illustrations and was easy to read the PDF ebook on my device. The brilliance of the plot and well as its humor is not compromised.

I have read this book along with many of Samantha Newman's other 'Shakespeare tales' books. I have always been intrigued by Shakespeare's books but have only ever read Romeo and Juliet and that was about 20 years ago when I was in school. When I came across this book I thought it was a perfect way to get these stories out in the world for those who struggle with classic books. I read this book to my son along with him reading them. Malaki is ten years old and has loved reading these along with myself. Along with being interesting and fun books with great narrations they have all included morals/tales of some sort which Malaki enjoys telling me what the lesson to the story is. A great book and I'm looking forward to reading more of them. My son says that he has enjoyed reading them and it is good that there are books from Shakespeares he is able to read and understand.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite plays by Shakespeare. This novelized adaptation of it for young readers does an excellent job of keeping the comedy of errors and the humor while toning down some of the more inappropriate situations for young readers. I would highly recommend this for upper elementary classrooms as a way to introduce Shakespeare for students or as an initial reading before diving into selections from the play so students have a firm grasp on the characters of the play and the overall plot.

Cute little retelling of Much Ado About Nothing for kids, full of quirky black and white illustrations. The hilarious plot deal with "enemies" getting tricked into falling in love with each other, thanks to their friends' and families' interventions.

Benedick and Beatrice are both sharp-tongued, insulting people who never miss a chance to hurl disdainful taunts at each other. Beatrice's cousin hero and Benedick's friend Claudio (who are "normal" people engaged to each other) come up with a plan to make Beatrice believe that Benedick is actually head over heels in love with her and vice versa. The plan starts to work brilliantly, but then along comes trouble in the form of serious accusations about Hero being unfaithful to Claudio! Fortunately, this is a comedy and at the end of the day everything is cleared up, and relationships are (re)established. Benedick and Beatrice merrily claim they will reluctantly accept each other out of pity, and now there are not one but two couples getting married.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC!

Sam Newman retells William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” for young readers, a story of matchmaking, mischief and misunderstandings, with illustrations by Ceej Rowland.

Leonato hosts a masked ball to celebrate war heroes, including Claudio (who falls in love with his daughter Hero) and Benedick, who likes to match wits with his niece Beatrice. But what follows is a madcap adventure of mischief that almost leads to tragic results. Will happiness and true love win in the end?

Newman does a brilliant job of retelling a classic Shakespeare tale in five short acts in a way readers of all ages will understand and enjoy. The publisher does include a note indicating Shakespeare’s works can contain sensitive themes so adults should read these stories with their children. However, “Much Ado About Nothing” does not heavily contain mature themes.

Five stars out of five.

Arcturus Publishers provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I really enjoyed Arcturus' series of abridged Sherlock Holmes stories for young readers, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Arcturus have launched a series of abridges Shakespeare tales as well. While Charles and Mary Lamb's classic adaptations will always be my number one choice for introducing young readers to the Bard, I will definitely recommend this new series as well!

This is a nice re-telling of Much Ado About Nothing, one of Shakespeare's most witty comedies. The young gentleman Claudio is in love with a lovely, sweet lady named Hero and gets engaged to her, but his crotchety friend Benedick and Hero's fiery cousin Beatrice are constantly at each other's throats, exchanging insults and battling wits every time they encounter one another. Claudio and Hero devise an elaborate scheme with carefully staged conversations (meant to be eavesdropped on!) to fool both Benedick and Beatrice into thinking that each of them is actually secretly loved by the other. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John seeks to sow discord by casting doubt on Hero's character and falsely showing that she is unfaithful to Claudio right before their wedding. Will Benedick and Beatrice ever cast aside their enmity and constant bickering and truly develop romantic feelings for each other? Will the innocent Hero be exonerated in Claudio's eyes? Young readers will enjoy the hilarious scenes and misunderstandings unfolding one after another, and I hope this series will spark children's interest in the wonderful world of Shakespearean drama!

I love Shakespeare might be something people just say, otherwise it’s usually, “I hate Shakespeare, I don’t understand it.” But I truly love Shakespeare and was so excited to see these children’s book adaptations available on NetGalley and so happy to have been approved for Much Ado About Nothing. I started with a play with which I was familiar so that I could compare the writing to the original play, and I wasn’t disappointed. The language is simplified and the story arc is kept intact. In the end I had a nice fun read that refreshed one of my favorite Shakespear plays for me! 5 stars!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

I am noticing a trend... are you?

This tale, much like the previous one I read, is a child friendly modernized retelling of a Shakespeare tale. While this version does better at hitting the main points of the tale, I still found it to be a bit underwhelming as an adult.

This is such a convoluted and twisting tale, that it can be quite hard to keep hold of all of the threads and not loose track of the story. With double crossings, matchmaking, sets ups and grasping hold of the wrong end of the stick!

But the delightful thing about the adaptations for children and younger audiences, means it’s taken in an easier to understand format and helps parents introduce their young ones to what can be, complicated works of fiction.

With Benedick’s & Beatrice’s amusing banter and the overwhelming loving Leonata feels for Hero, there’s plenty to keep the reader amused. The illustrations scattered throughout too really help to enhance the story and help in bringing to life the words on the page. This collection is sure a worthy addition to the bookshelf!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.
Today, for many people (if anyone outside of English lit readers) Charles Lamb is know for his Tales from Shakespeare that he wrote with his sister. Edith Nesbit also wrote a similar work. If you are of a certain age, you might remember the Tales from Shakespeare that was on HBO. The problem with both Lamb and Nesbit that even though they are for children they are sill somewhat dated. This series is a much need update.
I will admit I was curious to see how Much Ado was handled considering that it hinges on the belief that a woman was cheating on her fiancée sexually. Newman actually handles it quite well. While the sexual act isn’t there – the book is for children after all - it is done in a way that makes sense – by proclaiming love.
While the book does modernize the language, it is true to the plot and characters. The verbal duels between Beatrice and Bendrick are there, with clear wording that shows that it is flirting. I did miss Beatrice’s line about eating his heart in the marketplace, but for children right?
What I particularly enjoyed was the diverse characters. Beatrice and Hero are women of color, and that is wonderful.
In short, if you want to introduce a child to the stories of Shakespeare, this series seems like a good starting place.

I enjoyed reading this junior adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing ". I thought the mini illustrations were cute and the chapters nice and concise. While the language was a bit stored at times, it is Shakespeare lol. A great way to introduce thus type of literature for younger audiences.

I loved this! Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I loved seeing this adaptation for children. The illustrations were beautiful, and I loved it all! Such a fun idea

Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare play, so I was happy to see this book adapted for younger audiences. It has quick chapters that summarize each act of the play. There are also cartoon-like illustrations every few pages. I appreciated that the book follows the play very closely. I am so glad that this series exists so that younger people can become familiar with great plays like this one.

I did feel that the retelling was pretty dry and to the point at times. It told the reader rather than showed through descriptions. Maybe this was a style choice based on Shakespeare or the age group. But I would’ve appreciated a bit more description rather than mostly dialogue.

Your middle grader will get a great introduction to Shakespeare with this book or someone of any age will get an easy to understand summary to pair with the original text.

A brilliant way to get the tales from Shakespeare in to kids reading that isn’t in olde English and that actually makes the story understandable. Can be read by any age. Look forward to the rest in the series

Shakespeare's Tales: Much Ado About Nothing by Samantha Newman

I really enjoy these types of novels. an easy adaption of the classic Shakespeare play, it makes Shakespeare accessible to all.

Benedick has sworn off women and Beatrice has vowed that she will never marry a man, but their friends have resolved to get them married!

This humorous adaption is faithful to the original play and tells the story in a way that we can all enjoy.

#Shakespeare #muchadoaboutnothing #Netgalley #adaption #humour

This is a wonderful way to expose children to Shakespeare's work. They can learn the plots before they have to tackle the plays in school. It's accessible and the illustrations are delightful.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.