Sam Stars at Shakespeare’s Globe

Product Description When Samuel discovers the Globe Theatre, he longs to work for the greatest writer in England. Impressed by the boy’s pluck, Master Shakespeare agrees to employ him. One by one, Samuel plays Cobweb, then the grandson of Coriolanus, then a young Roman boy in Julius Caesar. But Master Shakespeare says he is still not ready to play the part he wants most: Juliet. Then one day, Sam gets a lucky break. But has he got what it takes to be one of the finest players in all of England? This vivid historical tale re-creates Shakespeare in his setting and explores the fascinating convention of boys playing girls’ parts in 16th-century England. From School Library Journal Grade 1-3-Uninspired storytelling, stiff language, and awkward transitions mar this story about young actors on the Elizabethan stage. Sam and his mother have just moved to London, and the lad needs a job. With stars in his eyes, he visits the Globe Theatre and finds work as an actor. Sam’s roles are all relatively small, until one lucky day when the voice of the actor playing Juliet begins to break. Sam quickly learns the part and brings down the house. Francis states that all of the female characters in this era were portrayed by boys, but neither the book’s illustrations nor its text effectively makes this point. This problem stems, in part, from the fact that the artwork is often out of sync with the action in the text. Where it reads, Sam stared in the mirror. He smiled at his reflection, picked up the hem of his dress and went out on to the stage, the accompanying artwork is a sterile, uninteresting depiction of the theater’s exterior. It’s a wasted opportunity to convey Sam’s transformation as an actor. The book has six largely irrelevant cityscapes, many of which are spreads, but few of which make a contribution to the story. -Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist The brief historical note on the title page sets up the drama for this picture-book story for older children. In Shakespeare’s time, girls and women were not allowed to act in the theater, so men’s parts were played by young boys before their voices broke. Sam finds work in the famous Globe Theater, where he starts off playing small parts, such as a fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Finally, after being trained by kindly, idyllic Shakespeare, he is cast as Juliet, and the audience loves him: “They sighed when Juliet fell in love with Romeo. They cheered when she disobeyed her father and married him. They sobbed when . . .” Clear, brilliantly colored ink-and-gouache illustrations show the stage performances and the active audience as well as the backstage goings-on and a glowing view of the theater on the Thames. Hazel Rochman Copyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved Review I was mesmerized by the magnificent illustrations in this book … It is an excellent introduction to Elizabethan London … I recommend it to any parent, teacher or young child aged 7 or 8 who wishes to learn about Shakespeare’s theatre. English 4-11 About the Author Pauline Francis’s books include Drake’s Drummer Boy, The Little Giant: the Story of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Television Man: the Story of John Logie Baird. Jane Tattersfield has illustrated three books accompanying television series: The India File, Celebrating India and Stories of Faith, as well as some of the Dress Sense costume books for Belitha Press.