The influence of Shakespeare on American culture is unequivocal. And despite its youth, young adult literature has grown into a literary force majeure. Considering the widespread popularity of both Shakespeare and young adult literature, their pairing can offer teachers and students a wide array of instructional possibilities. Our collection offers secondary (6-12) educators engaging ideas and approaches for pairing Shakespeare's most frequently taught plays alongside young adult novels which often provide a unique examination of a topic that teaching a single text could not afford. The pairings offered in each chapter allow for comparisons in some cases, for extensions in others, and for critique in some.

Steeped in the natural history of Mary Anning's Jurassic Coast, a powerful dual-timeline story about friendship, mental health and hidden stories. 1884. Emma Linden dreams of following in the footsteps of the famous fossil-hunter, Mary Anning on the Jurassic Coast. But Emma's world begins to spiral when her brother James becomes obsessed with a glassy-eyed tiger at the museum. More than a hundred years later, her descendant Rosie Linden goes missing, her mind full of prowling tigers. With her new friend Jude, Rosie uncovers family secrets buried like layer upon layer of rock. Together they must sift the past to find the truth and heal the present. Praise for Hannah Foley 'A great friendship story, fascinating, intricate and hopeful.' Hilary McKay author of The Skylarks' War '[An] expansive story about mental health, hidden stories and friendship.' The Bookseller One to Watch 'A bold, courageous and important book.' Sophie Kirtley author of The Wild Way Home

Stories of the Second World War on the Home Front from the bestselling Terry Deary, author of the hugely successful Horrible Histories. A young tearaway unwillingly evacuated to the countryside is unjustly accused of theft. He decides to make his way back home, never mind the Blitz - but he'll need to steal a bike to do it...

JACK FLETCHER FACES HIS TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET.

After a snowstorm forces him to take shelter, Jack comes across a village in need of protection from raiding mountain bandits. Torn between moving on or helping, Jack is persuaded to stay and fight the villagers' cause.

But Jack is the first and only samurai to do so. Now he must enlist other warriors to the villagers' aid before the bandits return to steal their harvest. No easy task when the reward is so little and he is a foreigner. If only he had his friends to call on...

Using the Ring of Fire, can Jack overpower the bandits and win?

Vienna, 1714: Late in life, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the universal genius of his time, puts down his pen and declares his description of the universe to be complete. In the evening, he sits in his study room among letters, books, and manuscripts as his young friend Theodor comes for a visit. Theodor is bothered by one question: Why is there evil? And why do people commit crimes? With an example from ancient Greek mythology, Leibniz develops his theory about the best of all possible worlds. With this vivid "story within a story" Jean Paul Mongin successfully imparts the complex philosophical ideas of Leibniz to young readers. At its most basic, philosophy is about learning how to think about the world around us. It should come as no surprise, then, that children make excellent philosophers! Naturally inquisitive, pint-size scholars need little prompting before being willing to consider life's "big questions," however strange or impractical. Plato & Co. introduces children--and curious grown-ups--to the lives and work of famous philosophers, from Socrates to Descartes, Einstein, Marx, and Wittgenstein. Each book in the series features an engaging--and often funny--story that presents basic tenets of philosophical thought alongside vibrant color illustrations.

This series of hilarious fictional diaries put us inside the heads of hapless figures from history in frazzling situations. Alexander is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Athens in the 5th century BC. He wants to be a great warrior like his father, but he can barely lift a spear. When he's tasked with accompanying a great Greek warrior, Dracon, to the Olympic Games in Oympia, he might just get his chance to prove himself in the sporting arena instead of on the battlefield. Will he become an Olympian legend or will the Greek poets be composing songs about how terrible he is? 'Get Real' fact boxes feature throughout, providing historical context and further information, as well as a timeline, historical biographies and a glossary in the endmatter.

Someone will take their final bow . . .

Fresh from their adventure in Hong Kong, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are off to the Rue Theatre in London to face an entirely new challenge: acting.

But the Detective Society is never far away from danger, and it's clear there's trouble afoot at the Rue.

Jealousy, threats and horrible pranks quickly spiral out of control - and then a body is found.

Now Hazel and Daisy must take centre stage and solve the crime . . . before the murderer strikes again.

Action-packed and full of historical details, the Spartapuss series follows the diary of a gladiator cat from Rome to the Land of the Kitons (A.K.A. Britain). Boudicat, the fourth book in the Spartapuss series, was awarded an 'Exclusively Independent' pick of the month award. In Boudicat, the forth title in the series, Queen Boudicat has declared war on Rome and wants Spartapuss to join her rebel army. Our ginger hero can't see how a tiny tribe of Kitons can take on the mighty Feline Empire. But warrior queens don't take 'No' for an answer. Boudicat is not for turning, she's for burning! The books are filled with marvelous characters and weird historical facts, which makes them ideal for both cat-lovers and history enthusiasts from around 8 years and upwards. You don't need to have read the other Spartapuss titles to enjoy Boudicat. "An exciting series... really good books. I would recommend them to 10 year olds and upwards who enjoy thrillers that you can't put down 'til you've read the whole thing!" Flora Murray, Dalry Secondary School S1, The Journal of Classics Teaching.

The ninth and final novel in the number-one bestselling, award-winning Murder Most Unladylike series. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are in Egypt, taking a cruise along the Nile. They are hoping to see some ancient temples and a mummy or two; what they get, instead, is murder. Also travelling on the SS Hatshepsut is a mysterious society called the Breath of Life: a group of genteel English ladies and gentlemen, who believe themselves to be reincarnations of the ancient pharaohs. Three days into the cruise their leader is found dead in her cabin, stabbed during the night. It soon becomes clear to Daisy and Hazel that the victim's timid daughter is being framed - and they begin to investigate their most difficult case yet. But there is danger all around, and only one of the Detective Society will make it home alive...

An action-packed Anglo-Saxon tale of one boy's journey to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The story of one Anglo-Saxon boy's journey to the Battle of Hastings in 1066: Key Stage 2 History brought to life as battle-packed adventure. 1065: Magnus is the son of Harold Godwinson, lord of the Southern Saxons and ruthlessly ambitious claimant to the throne of England. Overnight, Magnus finds himself cast centre-stage in the blood-soaked family feud that led to one of history's most famous battles. This is the family tragedy behind 1066: live it with Magnus, as the wolves of history close in on his Anglo-Saxon boyhood.

Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest…

When Col’s childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians – a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight – Col must race to Blitz-bombed London to save his sister.

But there are darker forces at work, even than the Nazi bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything.

In the thirteenth fantastical book from The Kingdom of Wrenly series, Prince Lucas and Clara learn about the legend of the Thirteenth Knight.

The elite band of knights known as the Spires are searching for a new hero to join their ranks. With only twelve knights on this team, the Spires open a competition to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The winner of the Spires' competition must show bravery, valor, wisdom, and heart. But finding the Thirteenth Knight might prove to be the Spires' greatest challenge ever.

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Kingdom of Wrenly chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

We weren't supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren't even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar. February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he's not used to company and he certainly doesn't want any evacuees. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she's desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.

When Charlie's longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie's world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It's become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there?

What follows is a wild, big-hearted adventure as Charlie and the Stone Age boy set out together to find what they have lost - their courage, their hope, their family and their way home.

Fans of Piers Torday and Stig of the Dump will love this wild, wise and heartfelt debut adventure.