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Who Was . . . ? Series

Who Was William Shakespeare?

celeste davidson mannis john o/brien

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The beloved plays of Shakespeare are still produced everywhere, yet the life of the world's most famous playwright remains largely a mystery.

Young Will left the town of Stratford to pursue theater in London, where his work eventually thrived and made him a famous and wealthy man.

With black-and-white illustrations that include a diagram of the famous Globe theater, Celeste Davidson Mannis puts together the pieces of Shakespeare's life and work for young readers.

105 pages, Paperback

First published December 1,2006
Series
Who Was . . . ? Series

This edition

Format
105 pages, Paperback
Published
December 28, 2006 by Penguin Workshop
ISBN
9780448439044
ASIN
0448439042
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the B...

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About the author

Profile Image for celeste davidson mannis

celeste davidson mannis

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Celeste Davidson Mannis, the award winning author of several books for children, is convinced she has the best job in the world. "Writing for children is one of my greatest joys. Children are wonderfully open to new ideas. My goal is to explore aspects of our world - its people, cultures, history, and natural wonders - in a way that fuels their amazing intelligence and curiosity. Knowledge is power, and it's my fondest wish that through my books I can help provide children with a sense of their own potential and unique place in the greater world community."

Born in Los Angeles, California, Celeste now resides there with her much loved husband and daughters. She promises to go grocery shopping soon! Celeste holds undergraduate degrees in History and The History of Art, as well as a Masters in Business Administration, all from the University of Southern California. She has also studied British History and Renaissance Art History at the University of London.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
39(39%)
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35(35%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
MidnightEcho
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I have been reading a book called “Who was William Shakespeare?” This book’s genre is Biography. It is about our best playwright - William Shakespeare. I like this book because I love his poems and stories. This book tells me about William Shakespeare’s life. My favorite part of this book, is when William Shakespeare write a play called “King Lear”. The play is about old King Lear who decides to give his kingdom to his three daughters. But somethings happen out of his expectation. The characters in this book are believable, because the story of William Shakespeare is real. I would recommend this book to everyone, because I think everyone should know how William Shakespeare has created plays and poems. His creativity can inspire everyone, so I suggest that he or she should have a good look.
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Mourossonero
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I like how the different books tie together - definitely see how kids would like to keep reading and find the other books related to the one they are reading.
Top 5 things I learned/found interesting:
- Mary was pregnant when they got married (and 26 years old with an 18 year old)
- Queen Elizabeth loved the theater - perhaps that emboldened Shakespeare to write the kind of plays he did
- The first theater he partially owned was on land that they didn't - the landlord demanded too high of a rent - so they took the theater down and moved it to another plot of land
- Essentially everything he wrote was not an original story - which was common in that time
- The last play he wrote paralleled his desire to leave the stage - or at least it seems it that way.
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Karategirl2012
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Biography I read with my daughter for a school project. Well written and informative. I love how this series states the historical facts, yet adds enough interesting tidbits to keep it fun and entertaining for kids.
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Sypher8038
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Good book!
Nice to have an overview of Shakespeare's titles and their plots.
The character of Shylock and the Shakespearean origin of many English phrases like "wild goose chase" was particularly interesting.
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Carpal_Tunnel69
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I think it was a good quick read. Some good things about this book - Very informational, I liked how the author talked about the time period and how Shakespeare grew up. To be more specific, the author really went into detail about Shakespeare's life and how he got about writing plays. I liked how she described and talked about the setting and the lifestyle of his.
A thing I wish the author went into more about the lifestyle before, but to be fair, I learned that there was a time in his life where he didn't have a record, and nobody really knows where he went.
Overall I think this is a good nonfiction read, and would suggest it to anyone who wants an informational light read.
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Dieghoull
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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3.5 stars. I read this one with my children for our first Shakespeare month. Good, with extra information concerning the time of Shakespeare. Good, not great. (April 2024)
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AdiasPalisade
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This was a very fun and fast paced read. Even though we know little about the early life of William Shakespeare, things can be inferred about what could have happened. The story weaves its way in and out of his life through the use of his writings. Readers will learn quite a lot about the life of William Shakespeare in this book.
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K1N0SUKE
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Shakespeare lived a different life than I had anticipated. In retrospect, though, it seems to be very much the life that an theater person would have had to live in those days. This author was okay, but not the best in this series of books.
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