Shakespeare's Tales: Love's Labour's Lost

By Samantha Newman and Ceej Rowland

King Ferdinand's plan to ban ladies from his court to focus on his studies seems like a great one - until the Princess of France and her friends arrive and he falls in love! Can Ferdinand and his friends break their own law?

This hilarious comedy has been retold and adapted with new illustrations, making it perfect for younger readers. Adapted by Samantha Newman, it will enthral young readers of 7+.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Shakespeare's Tales brings the Bard's timeless stories to life for a younger generation, with wit and panache. Samantha Newman's cleverly reworked text retains many of Shakespeare's own inimitable turns of phrase, while simplifying and clarifying the language and plots to make stories accessible to children. Perfect for children aged 7+.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398818132

Book preview

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Love's Labour's Lost

A William Shakespeare Tale

Retold by Sam Newman

Illustrated by Ceej Rowland

Note to Parents

Shakespeare’s plays sometimes contain difficult themes. We have handled these sensitively, but would recommend that younger children in particular read the stories aloud with a trusted adult, so that they can discuss anything that causes them concern.

Titles in This Series:

1. The Comedy of Errors

2. Love’s Labour’s Lost

3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

4. Romeo and Juliet

5. The Merchant of Venice

6. Much Ado About Nothing

7. As You Like It

8. Hamlet

9. Twelfth Night

10. Othello

11. All’s Well That Ends Well

12. King Lear

13. Macbeth

14. Antony and Cleopatra

15. The Winter’s Tale

16. The Tempest

Contents

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

Act Four

Act Five

Act One

Once, a long time ago, there was a kingdom called Navarre. It sat on a piece of land that spans parts of the countries we now know as France and Spain. Navarre was a very pleasant land, ruled over by the young King Ferdinand.

Although Ferdinand was young, he was determined to be wise, so he could lead his people well. He loved to read and learn. Most of his time was spent in his grand library, poring over old texts from all over the world. His best friends, Biron, Dumaine, and Longueville also loved to study.

One day, the king had an idea. He wrote down a plan and then went to find the other three.

Why don’t we form an academy? he said to his friends. "A place where we can study philosophy. And to get it started, we four shall live for three years as scholars. We shall ignore the distractions of the world. We won’t have feasts, or balls, or parties. And most important of