Shakespeare for kids

My dad wrote a post last week about the worth of teaching Shakespeare to primary school kids.  I was thrilled to read the news that the Bell Shakespeare company is going to start performing adapted versions of six of his plays for primary aged kids as young as six. I'd also like to second dad's recommendation for Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories. Dave has read them to our older kids and they loved them; we were impressed at how faithfully he managed to covey the stories in a way the kids could understand while not losing all the original language (read my original review here if you're interested).

That said, Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories (parts one and two) are demanding books and would be challenging for most primary aged kids to read on their own. Since arriving in England, we've been delight to discover some other resources in our local library and bookshops that are a little easier and have been a great resource to teach them a bit of basic Shakespeare! In fact, there are so many I've come across over here, it's a little overwhelming. I'm just going to mention a few of the best:

Shakespeare stories by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross - this series of books is one of the easier ones we've found. They are published separately as thin paperback early readers and are illustrated by Tony Ross (he does quite distinctive illustrations - eg. Little Princess and Horrid Henry). They are aimed at kids who are just starting to read easy paperbacks. My six year old loved these.

Stories from Shakespeare, by Geraldine McCaughrean - This is a collection of ten selected Shakespeare plays in one book. What I liked about this one is that is well written in its own right. In terms of difficulty it lies somewhere between the Andrew Matthews and Leon Garfield retellings. Each story runs for about 9-10 pages and the language isn't too difficult. She still quotes important lines from the plays though, which I liked. My 8 year old really enjoyed this one.

Shakespeare: the animated tales - The BBC commissioned this twelve part TV series almost twenty years ago.  Leon Garfield wrote the screenplay for these as well, using much of the original language. I was lucky enough to find a DVD of some of them (Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night) at a bookshop in Cambridge for two pounds! They are fantastic. Each runs for half an hour, so obviously they cut back the original play significantly. While the animations are a bit out of date, I found they were an effective way to convey the basic idea of the plays. My kids loved them - I'm already looking out for the rest of the series. You can also get books of this series (using the animations and the text of the play). We've borrowed a couple from our local library and they're really good too.

And we have also enjoyed this game I picked up from Stratford Upon Avon. ..

I'm aware there are dozens I've missed out. Which other ones should I include? I'd love to hear some of your favourites!