Sam Stars at Shakespeare's Globe

Young Sam, newly arrived in London, slips inside the just-completed Globe Theatre and is dazzled by its décor ("It was the most magical place he had ever seen"). Tattersfield's alluringly foreshortened framed image accentuates the ceiling, which captivates the boy. When a man asks Sam what he is doing there, the boy announces that he wants to work for Master Shakespeare, but the man kindly tells him to go home, since "This stage is only for actors." Yet Sam finds a way to fill in for a missing performer. Impressed, the dismissive man (whom readers will recognize as Shakespeare) gives Sam a job playing Cobweb in A Midsummer's Night's Dream , an auspicious start to his career (which allows Francis to work in references to plays such as Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet ). Though the electric palette of Tattersfield's ink and gouache artwork can be jarring alongside the story's setting, the illustrations take on a pleasing folk art quality, and nicely spotlight the architect and costumes of Elizabethan London. At times the narrative seems manipulated to work in the facts (such as when the playwright tells Sam about his son's death, to make him appropriately sad for the role of Juliet) but other tidbits of theatrical history will be welcomed, including the practice of boys playing women characters and the actors' interactions with the Globe's rowdy "playgoers." Overall, youngsters will likely find this an enjoyable lesson. Ages 5-9. (Nov.)