Rating: 
Summary: Great Intro to Shakespeare
Review: Although this book is written for children it is great for all ages and is great to get the basic story line before you go to a play. I read most of the plays in this book (I have not yet read all of them) when I was 11. Now that I have been reading the actual plays of Shakespeare I always start by reading the short version of the play in this book and than read the actual play. I can understand what is going on much better that way. I also recommend "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children" by Edith Nesbit which gives about ten page versions of each story verses the thirty pages per story in this book and also has a smaller vocabulary which makes it better for younger children.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice read for children
Review: As a younger person in the nineties, I dipped into the plays of Shakespeare, and this book let me get into the classic stuff. It was interesting, put into kids' stories so as not to intimidate the younger enthusiast, and altogether, it was a good book. I suppose you have to be in to Shakespeare to enjoy it wholly though....A gentle, relaxing dip into Shakespeare. I'll give two stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Archaic language
Review: Boring for the adult, utterly inaccesible to the young reader. Note that this book was written in 1807. If your goal is to expand your child's vocabulary, especially in the direction of archaisms, this might be a useful study text. If your goal is to teach your child to love literature and theatre, this could deal a ... blow to the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Archaic language
Review: Boring for the adult, utterly inaccesible to the young reader. Note that this book was written in 1807. If your goal is to expand your child's vocabulary, especially in the direction of archaisms, this might be a useful study text. If your goal is to teach your child to love literature and theatre, this could deal a ... blow to the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lambs book not as appealing to today's children
Review: Charles and Mary Lamb's classic book on Shakespeare retains too much of the archaic language of the actual works to interest grade school children. While the work might appeal to upper grades and high school students anxious to find an alternative to reading the actual plays, as an introduction to Shakespeare for young children, the book is a failure. It compares unfavorably with Ian Serralier's out-of-print classic THE TEMPEST AND OTHER TALES: STORIES FROM SHAKESPEARE, which uses modern language and glowing imagery to effectively communicate the universal appeal of Shakespeare to the very young. I can testify to this since it was Serralier's book, read in the third grade, that first interested me in the Bard. I stumbled upon Lamb's book later. If I had found Lamb's book first, I would have concluded that Shakespeare was something dry and dull for grownups, and it would have been forced down my throat in the upper grades. As things turned out, I have a lifelong love of the Bard thanks to Serralier's book. A publisher with any sense would reprint it
Rating: 
Summary: Does the Job
Review: Good didactic summaries, suitable for cramming information into your head long enough to comprehend what's going on in your teenager's high school English class. More often than not, it will be modernized versions of Shakespeare, with modern weapons and other interpretive gloss. This keeps the story straight. But reading the basic stories in stripped down prose almost kills them. So what. It's enough for info-abosrption. Read it if you have to. If you want to read Shakespeare, on the other hand, read it like he wrote it.
Rating:
Summary: Tales from Shakespeare
Review: I love this book! I have always loved Shakespeare and wanted my children to enjoy the bard as well. I always read these stories to them before we watch a play on TV, video, or rarely, on stage. They are a step ahead in that they already know the plot and can then enjoy the language more fully. They are developing a love for Shakespeare, too!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to Shakespeare for Kids
Review: I love this book! I have always loved Shakespeare and wanted my children to enjoy the bard as well. I always read these stories to them before we watch a play on TV, video, or rarely, on stage. They are a step ahead in that they already know the plot and can then enjoy the language more fully. They are developing a love for Shakespeare, too!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book that will enthrall everyone who reads it.
Review: I read this book as a child of eight (back in 1970). It was a gift from my scientist father (an avid Shakespeare fan) as an introduction to Shakespeare. The book served its purpose very well and I have now given it to my sons aged 7 and 9 who have found it extremely enjoyable. The best part of this book is the way it weaves a rich tapestry in layman's language without the confusing and often ambiguous old English of the original transcripts. Lamb's Tales makes an excellent primer for those going to see the plays in traditional old English. The book allows all the complex plot elements and characters to be understood and spotted in the live play. The prose format allows the reader to conjure up the images and situations more readily than if struggling with the poetry. I heartily recommend this book to all ages.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to the plays
Review: I read this book as a child; my mother gave it to me and my brother before we went to see the plays. It was an excellent introduction to the plays and to the world of Shakespeare, and helped me understand what I was watching. I also enjoyed reading the stories themselves, and familiarized myself with Shakespeare this way. It made a huge difference, as became quite clear to me when we read Henry IV in ninth grade in school, a play for which I had no Lamb version. I didn't understand that play and took no pleasure in it, whereas I did enjoy much harder plays (e.g., Othello, A Winter's Tale, etc.) that I had the Lambs' help with. Depending on reading level, the Lambs' book would be appropriate for anyone from seven or eight to 13 or 14 years old.
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