A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Another collaboration between illustrator Roberto Irace and author Luke Daniel Paiva adapting the Bard of Avon’s plays for younger viewers (see Much Ado About Nothing in VL-7/18), the vibrantly-colored, iconographic-animated A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in the cutesy-animal-inhabited lush locale of the enchanted Fairy Wood. Compacting the plot of four somewhat mismatched lovers, a bickering royal fairy couple, and the mischievous sprite Puck, this abbreviated adaptation is very busy, packed with almost Where’s Waldo?-ish details, along with asides explaining key vocabulary terms such as "star-crossed" and "betrothed." Extras include a read-along option and a featurette on Shakespeare. A strong optional purchase. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)