SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN ACTRESS OR ACTOR?

This special edition can be read forwards about Billie Shakespeare (the actress) and including information about Shakespeare and Hamlet.

When you reach the end, you can reach it from backwards forwards as the second half is about Billy Shakespeare (the actor) with information about Shakespeare and Hamlet.

So, it’s two books about the same subject: Acting. Whether your child wants to be an actor or an actress, they can read about two mice whose dream it was to become an actor/actress and how their human best friends in both cases named Jamie, and their families helped them along the way.

READERS FAVOURITE REVIEW FOR BILLIE SHAKESPEARE FIVE STARS

Billie and her three-generation mouse family live under the theater, so she can watch plays from under the seat. She has a Hamlet costume and a sword and has memorized the lines of the play. Besides the mouse family, the other important character is Jamie, Billie’s human friend, who can shrink herself down to mouse size and also watch the plays from under the seat. Then comes the day when the play might be canceled because the actor who performs Hamlet is sick. Jamie grows back to full size and speaks to the director. Jamie insists that Billie can do it. Billie’s chance has come and she is able to realize her dream of becoming an actor. She and Jamie remain friends for life.

READERS FAVOURITE REVIEW FOR BILLY SHAKESPEARE FIVE STARS

Billy Shakespeare by Cathy McGough is the story of how a mouse can become an actor in a human theater. Three generations of the mouse family live under the theater, so Billy sneaks upstairs and watches the plays from under a seat. He likes Shakespeare’s Hamlet so much that he has a Hamlet costume and a sword and has memorized the lines. Billy’s friend Jamie is a human boy but can shrink himself to Billy’s size and also watches from under the seat. Then the announcement that the performance is canceled because the main actor is sick causes Jamie to grow to full size. He hurries to tell the director about Billy. When the director asks where Billy is, Jamie shouts, He’s under the chair! This is the beginning of Billy’s career as an actor, but he is always friends with Jamie. I thoroughly enjoyed the picture book Billy Shakespeare by Cathy McGough. I loved the mixture of colorful illustrations and actual photos. I thought the mouse family was cute and I enjoyed getting to know the main character, Billy, who was a likable mouse. I especially liked the friendship between Billy and his human friend Jamie. It is nice to see a book meant for children that explains what the theater is like. I enjoyed the rhyming which I like to see in kids’ books. I believe that children would enjoy this story about friendship, ambition, and realizing your dreams.