A Young Reader’s Guide to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Many Shakespeare guides don’t trust readers: they translate Shakespeare’s rich language into more ordinary speech and dictate the meanings of his scenes. But A Young Reader’s Guide to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is designed to help young readers listen carefully to what characters say and to use their imaginations to see the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for themselves. A preface offers key information about Shakespeare’s theater, an explanation of some common old-fashioned words readers will encounter, and a way to understand the play’s many metaphors and similes. Readers will then be guided to understand each scene of the play through a sequence of carefully designed questions that invite them to envision the characters and plots using story-boarding, illustration, and writing. A Young Reader’s Guide to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives readers the methods and the confidence to imagine the world of the play for themselves.