The Shakespeare Stealer

by Gary Blackwood
1998

Drawn by the name "Shakespeare" in the title, I grabbed this book off the shelf at our local library.

I knew I'd read it.
I hoped he'd read it.

I have.
He hasn't.

What can I do to get Boy 1 to read a book with Shakespeare filling its pages?


The Shakespeare Stealer is basically about an orphan charged with the job of stealing a copy of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. He joins a troupe of actors at the Globe Theatre and tries to carry out his task...

Sound familiar?

The Shakespeare Stealer was a great book. I thought the characters were interesting and well-developed. I thought the writing smooth and the research (to my non-expert eye) seamless.

The only downside, in my opinion, is that it has all been done before.

The Shakespeare Stealer has different characters with different names and different circumstances, but I feel like every time I pick up a middle grade novel involving Shakespeare, there is always a script to be stolen or a plot to be foiled or a boy who is really a girl...

Is there any other story to be told?


Even so, it was a good book and I did enjoy my time in its pages.
I just wish my boy had read it. Sigh.

On that note, what he is reading will be the topic of my next post.



Reading on...