The Tempest
Grade 4 Up–Brilliant color in the gouache illustrations makes this picture-book retelling a visual treat. Each spread is comprised of a painting with the text superimposed on it in a parchment-looking insert. The characters are set on the pages as though they were onstage, inviting readers into the tale. Their costuming, with rich-seeming fabrics, would carry well in a theater. The Shakespearean story is complete, although the prose is not always graceful. The end of the tale has been slightly altered; where Shakespeare has Prospero returning to his former post as duke of Milan, Mayer has chosen to make him a grandfather teaching moral behavior to his grandchildren. The vocabulary is expressive and well chosen, but rather high on the comprehension scale.–Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.