Welcome to the Globe: The Story of Shakespeare's Theater

If you were only going to get 3 or 4 books about Shakespeare, this really should be the first! It is done in the DK style format (even if your not a big fan of this style this book makes a great exception to the rule)and the pages are covered with info and pictures. This is the first one of these readers level style that was meaty and entertaining. Well, Well done!

This book transports you to 1602 London and its famous Globe theater, the venue for some of Shakespeare's greatest plays. One of its many strengths is that it is told in first person narrative by multiple characters: A young male character actor playing a woman as well as Richard Burbage, perhaps the most famous Shakespearian actor of the time, an apple seller struggling to make a living during a time of plague, a wealthy theater-goer and a poor one, a pickpocket, and Burbage's brother, Cuthbert, the force being the building of the Globe. The narratives and sidebars are full of interesting facts and" asides, from the major types of plays and play-goers ("people whose clothes were thought to be too expensive [for their station]...were arrested and fined." There's an excellent section on Richard Burbage and his techniques, along with details on stage production, the history upon which Henry V was based, and the tricks that kept audiences spellbound.Highlighting both the high and low culture/classes of the period, "Welcome to the Globe" gives a fresh and colorful presentation on a subject many school-age children might otherwise find distant and boring. There's an intimacy to the narratives that complements the panoramic view of the broader culture in which the plays thrived. The book may interest readers into further exploration not only of the theater, but of culture, history, and science. The scope and quality here yields yet another DK hit!