The Bard and the Book

Starred review from January 29, 2024
Via friendly and humorous text (“You have been misled to think that a dead poet with an earring from more than four hundred years ago has nothing to offer you”), Bausum (Ensnared in the Wolf’s Lair) breaks down the lucky confluence of events that led to the preservation of plays by William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Dividing the work into five acts, Bausum first details Shakespeare’s life (“William Shakespeare Becomes Brilliant, Then Dies”) and the history of Elizabethan theater (“The Fleeting Nature of Theater Prepares to Vanquish Macbeth”) before diving into the production of the First Folio, which those who had known Shakespeare created by drawing from their own recollections of his life and work. Further chapters chronicle the challenges of authenticating his writings, the printing and binding process, and the maintenance and current whereabouts of the original folio. Employing detailed scholarship, the author packs this slim volume with intriguing facts—such as how the rolls of paper on which Elizabethan actors wrote their lines were “the origin of what we call acting ROLES today”—emphasized through varying typefaces, strategic line breaks, and asides. Interspersed throughout are folk art–inspired illustrations by Sevilla (Little Red Hoodie) in vivid blues and oranges featuring figures in period dress. Bausum’s passion for the topic is infectious, making for a joyous and engaging read for Shakespearean enthusiasts and skeptics alike. Extensive notes conclude. Ages 10–up. Agent: Hannah Mann, Writers House.

Starred review from January 1, 2024
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* After William Shakespeare's death, in 1616, several friends and coworkers at the theater made the farsighted decision to collect their scripts, roles (rolls of paper recording a particular character's lines), and prompt books (including stage directions) into a folio--a large, unbound book offering Shakespeare's plays in one volume--in order to preserve his work for future generations. This was a radical idea, yet Bausum states that without it, half the plays might not have survived for four centuries. She follows the manuscript through the printer who produced the folios and sold them at bookseller stalls in London, the fires that destroyed some of the folios, the individual names that scholars have given them (from the Golden Retriever Folio to the pungently scented Farting Folio) and the ongoing interest in the First Folio, "the most authentic and complete." Whether explaining how the era's printing presses worked or introducing the Folger Shakespeare Library, Bausum uses a fresh, reader-friendly tone, neither writing down to middle-school students nor expecting them to have prior knowledge of Shakespeare, his times, or his literary legacy. The many full-color illustrations include photos, paintings, and archival documents as well as attractive, stylized drawings of Shakespeare, his coworkers, and their surroundings. A beautiful, well-researched book exploring an intriguing subject.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2024
An introduction to the most important book in the history of theater. Bausum focuses on the miracle that so many of Shakespeare's brilliant plays were preserved and explores how that came to happen. An airy rush of narrative is enlivened with quoted lines, plus photos of contemporary printed pages as well as spot art renditions of actors (one pursued by a bear), a printing press, and theatrical images of various small animals. The author reconstructs the progress of Elizabethan-era play scripts from draft "foul papers" to transcriptions into "rolls" of individual parts (the origin, she writes, of "roles") and prompt books, and then on to published versions of "bad" quartos, better ones, and finally the authoritative "folio" of 1623 (the first and best of four folio editions in the 17th century). Along with filling readers in on "catchwords" and other hand-printing terminology, she also notes how typos, a child's doodles, and other mischances down through the years have individually marked every one of the first folio's 235 (and counting) surviving copies and earned many of them intriguing names like the "Farting Folio" and the "Purple Copy." And Bausum's closing account of personal experiences at the Folger Shakespeare Library is rapturous enough to tempt like visits. A timely and engaging celebration of a literary landmark. (additional citations, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 1, 2024

Gr 5-10-"Alas and alack, if so, for you have been misled to think that a dead poet with an earring from more than four hundred years ago has nothing to offer you." So says the opening lines of this truly unique collection of lost history dedicated to William Shakespeare and his famous plays. The longevity of the writer and the works is due in part to a group of people who made the choice to preserve his collection of writing after he died. Thank goodness for this endeavor, as from it evolved a now famous book known as the First Folio, without which the Bard may not have become a household name. This craftily written behind-the-scenes look is the perfect introduction to both the author and his writings. Bausum's passion for history and its impact on generations of readers is infectious. She provides a lively nonfiction read on an intriguing subject, especially for Shakespeare aficionados-but it does not ignore the skeptics as she artfully threads Shakespearean notions together, providing a humorous glimpse into a period of time that spotlights a literary turning point. Sevilla splashes the pages with bold, colorful, unconventional visuals, demanding pause and perusal within Bausum's extensive narrative. VERDICT A voluminous book centering the historical playwright, along with a group of people who saved him from outright oblivion, this is a sharply funny, delightful must-have for every library shelf.-Lyn Smith

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.