Billy Shakespeare


Children - Animals
38 Pages
Reviewed on 01/15/2020
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Rebecca S Winner for Readers' Favorite

Billy Shakespeare by Cathy McGough is the story of how a mouse can become an actor in a human theater. Three generations of the mouse family live under the theater, so Billy sneaks upstairs and watches the plays from under a seat. He likes Shakespeare's Hamlet so much that he has a Hamlet costume and a sword and has memorized the lines. Billy's friend Jamie is a human boy but can shrink himself to Billy's size and also watches from under the seat. Then the announcement that the performance is canceled because the main actor is sick causes Jamie to grow to full size. He hurries to tell the director about Billy. When the director asks where Billy is, Jamie shouts, “He's under the chair!” This is the beginning of Billy's career as an actor, but he is always friends with Jamie.

I thoroughly enjoyed the picture book Billy Shakespeare by Cathy McGough. I loved the mixture of colorful illustrations and actual photos. I thought the mouse family was cute and I enjoyed getting to know the main character, Billy, who was a likable mouse. I especially liked the friendship between Billy and his human friend Jamie. It is nice to see a book meant for children that explains what the theater is like. I enjoyed the rhyming which I like to see in kids' books. I believe that children would enjoy this story about friendship, ambition, and realizing your dreams.