...and their parents are none the wiser, too!
Shakespeare might grace the pages of almost every school curriculum, but many children are still a bit baffled as to what he’s all about. In a study of 1,000 children, aged between 6 and 12 years by Vision Critical, more than a quarter (27%) had never read a Shakespeare play. Around 1 in 8 children polled admitted they didn’t even know he was a British playwright. While many scholars may tut and wonder how on earth such lyrical mastery has passed our youth by… many adults remain in the dark about William’s work, too. Of 2,000 adults polled, 49% were unable to complete the line, “O Romeo, Romeo…” from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. A further 2% believe Shakespeare to be a fictional character, while a whopping 5% of adults think his most famous play is Cinderella. If your children aren’t quite ready for Shakespeare, try out our A - Z of the top 100 books for kids. Start them on the right track for ‘big school’ reading with our guide to the best books for 9 years+.
