Cooper, Susan. (2001). King of Shadows. New York: Simon and Schuster, 192pp.

Grade Range: 6-9

Genre: fantasy, science fiction, supernatural

Summary and Critique

Nat Fields is a member of the Company of Boys, a theater troupe, that has been selected to go to London to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theater. Acting has been a refuge for him since the deaths of his parents. After arriving in London, Nat contracts a fever and becomes delirious. Nat's host family rushes him to the hospital where he is put in isolation with a case of bubonic plague. Nat awakes in Elizabethan London of 1599, where he has traded places in the space-time continuum with Nathan Fields, a young actor living in Elizabethan England. Nathan/Nat has been selected to play Oberon in Shakespeare's company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Will, as Nat calls him, takes Nat under his wing and becomes the father figure that he is missing. Nat is crushed when the play is over, and he returns to the present. Nathan returns to 1599 cured of the plague. With the help of a sonnet, Nat comes to grips with the loss of his parents and the loss of his friend, Will.

Cooper's writing makes the distant world of Shakespeare and his plays accessible to middle-school age students, thus giving them the desire to read and/or see the plays to which Cooper alludes. Also, the strong influence friendships outside one's peer group and family can have on people is evident through the relationships presented in this novel.

Awards

American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults

Publishers Weekly Best Books

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Challenges and Triumphs

Author Information

Susan Cooper was born in 1935 in England. She attended Oxford and received a Master's of Arts in English. Her first book, Mandrake, was a science fiction novel for adults. Soon after, she wrote her first children's story, Over Sea, Under Stone, for a competition. It was the first in a five book series. In 1963 she moved to the U.S. to marry a professor. She has written many novels and screenplays. King of Shadows is one of her most recent books.

For more information on Susan Cooper

http://www.markscott.f9.co.uk/thelostland/biography.htm A brief biography listing many of her works.

Media Connections

Movies/Documentaries

Finding Forrester (2000) An inner-city kid attends a prestigious prep school. Friendships with classmates and a reclusive Pulitzer Prize winning author help him realize his dreams.

In Search of Shakespeare (2004) A four part series from PBS looking at the modern evidence of Shakespeare's life and times.

Jumanji (1995) While playing a mysterious board game a boy disappears for 26 years. He reappears when two children, who have moved in to his old house with their aunt, find the game and begin playing. They have to play the game to completion before everything is set right again.

A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) A baseball playing boy travels through time to King Arthur's court to save Camelot.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996) The film adaptation of a stage production of Shakespeare's play.

Raising Helen (2004) The story of a hip aunt whose orphaned nieces and nephew come to live with her after the death of their parents.

Timeline (2003) A group of archeology students go back to 1357 to rescue their professor.

Television

Quantum Leap- any episode (time travel)

7^th Heaven- any episode (family relationships)

Music/Audio Recordings

"The Dance." Performed by Garth Brooks. From Garth Brooks. 1989. (A person enjoying the memory of someone who is gone.)

Online Resources

http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html Shakespeare Resource Center. Information on the man, times, works, and theater of William Shakespeare. Includes additional links.

http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/keh2ucs.htm An online research project of the Globe Theater with questions and links.

http://www.allshakespeare.com/globe Information on Shakespeare and both the old and new Globe Theaters.

http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare Web site for the 4 part series In Search of Shakespeare. Sections on the investigation, the show and a guide for educators are included.

http://www.hopefs.org/loss.htm This Web site gives an overview of the stages of grief and talks about how a child may react.

http://www.solosingles.com/ssparent/grief.htm This Web site contains information on reassuring a grieving child.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/ The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provides information about the Bubonic Plague.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/ PBS features several scientists'and authors'opinions about time travel.

Related Texts

Andersen, Laurie Halse & Earley, Lori. (2002). Fever, 1793. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Books. A sixteen-year old girl flees Philadelphia at her mother's insistence during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic.

Lowery, Lois. (2002). The Giver. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers. Set in a future utopian society, a twelve-year old boy is chosen to receive from the Giver all the painful secrets of their society.

Hoobler, Dorothy & Thomas. (2001). Ghost in the Tokaido Inn. New York: Putnam Juvenile. A boy helps solve the mystery of the stolen jewels by joining a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth century Japan.

Barnett, Frances Hodgson.(1987). The Secret Garden. New York: Harper Collins Children's Books. A girl loses both her parents to an illness in India, and she returns to England to live with her uncle. She finds solace and healing in a forgotten garden.

Blackwood, Gary L. (2000). The Shakespeare Stealer. New York: Puffin. An orphan joins Shakespeare's company to steal a play for his master but discovers loyalty and friendship instead. This book is the first in a series.

Park, Linda Sue. (2001). A Single Shard. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. In 12^th century Korea, an orphan boy is befriended and raised by a crippled, homeless man. He learns the rewards of hard work and perseverance.

Shakespeare, William. (1995). Something Rich and Strange: A Treasury of Shakespeare Verse. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Books. This book is a collection of verses from Shakespeare's sonnets and plays arranged thematically.

Cooper, Susan & Erlich, Amy (Eds.). (2001). When I Was Your Age: Original Stories About Growing Up. New York: Candlewick Press. A collection of ten semi-autobiographical stories written by award-winning young adult authors about a childhood experience.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Special Pen Pals: A Generation Gap Narrows" After teaching about letter forms, have students write a pen pal request letter. Coordinate with a local nursing home or senior center and pair each child with a senior with similar interests. Provide time for the students to write and edit their letters and assist in delivery.

[Adapted from "Special Pen Pals: A Generation Gap Narrows" by Iris Epstein in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. September 1988, p.5-6.]

(2) "British Literature Freewritings" Before introducing a writing assignment, allow students five minutes of free writing time about a particular theme in the b4teens_book. For King of Shadows, topics might include"A historical person you would like to meet" or "An older person who has been influential in your life." This activity could also be used before a class discussion or introducing the b4teens_book. [Adapted from "British Literature Freewritings" by Sr. Mary Crepeau in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. January 1988, p.5-6.]

(3) "The Playbill's the Thing" To conclude a unit, have students create a playbill using art and minimal text representing the book they have read. Provide materials such as construction paper, poster board, paints, and markers. Also, provide examples.
[Adapted from "The Playbill's the Thing" by Anita J. Fisher in Ideas Plus Book 2. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, p. 30.]

(Review written by Elizabeth Key and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)