This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
"Shakespeare's Menagerie" is a delightful book that is inspired by William Shakespeare's less known phrases about animals. The author uses them as her inspiration for her book of illustration of animals. She searches through Shakespeare’s works that mention animals and gives her own interpretation by drawing them. The question, "What's your dark meaning mouse, of this dark world?", thus leads to the drawing of a mouse with two legs apart and fingers on its mouth. The next phrase is, "It is the bright day that brings forth the adder, and it shows us a seemingly smiling adder, ready to face the world." This phrase is taken from Act II, Scene I of the play "Julius Caesar", and was spoken by Marcus Brutus. All the phrases and illustrations are labeled so that the book also gives us some interesting information about Shakespeare's works.
Laudea Martin is certainly a gifted illustrator and the idea to search through the voluminous works of Shakespeare for any mention of animals as inspiration in her book is simply unique and intriguing. Her book "Shakespeare's Menagerie" is the second book in the 'Shakespeare Paragon series' and it pairs her illustrations with Shakespeare's animals, so to speak. Her illustrations are simple so that there is no distraction to the eye. What comes out is the shape and volume of the animals combined with a texture that is achieved by expertly manipulating the color tone. This is a minimalist approach that is quite successful in driving the point in a straightforward and simple way. This is a book that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. It surely improved my knowledge of Shakespeare's less known phrases and made me aware of the fact that there is more to the minimalist style than meets the eye. A great way to introduce Shakespeare to the kids too!
