SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 CHILDREN’S TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARD! This season, get ready for a striking reimagining of William Shakespeare’s classic tale, Macbeth. 12-year-old striker Macbeth has a promising talent on the field. He also has a burning desire to become captain of Shotfield football team, and he is prepared to do whatever it takes. Macbeth’s hard-hearted mother also pushes him to succeed – getting ahead to get spotted by academy scouts, even if it means dirty tricks. So when the whistle blows for the big game, fair is foul and fouls are definitely fair! A back-of-the-net retelling of Shakespeare’s classic play from bestselling author Michael Rosen and beloved illustrator Tony Ross.

For young football fans everywhere, this book reveals the drama to be found in any football league. And it’s a great introduction to Shakespeare’s famous play!
Michael Rosen is best known by kids for We’re Going On a Bear Hunt, his poem “Chocolate Cake”, and his popular YouTube channel. Grown-ups know him for his education advocacy and BBC radio programmes. His recent book, Many Different Kinds of Love, chronicles his experiences surviving the coronavirus. Michael is an ardent Arsenal fan.
The book is illustrated throughout by Toni Ross, an artist familiar to all children for his work on the Horrid Henry series and David Walliams’s books.

Product Details

Catalogue number

5069 in Books and Resources for Schools 2021

Format

Paperback

ISBN

9781407188584

Publisher

Scholastic

Date published

September 3rd, 2020

Lexile measure

660L Lexiles are the global standard in reading assessment. They are unique as they are able to measure a child and a book on the same scale – ensuring the right book gets to the right child at the right time.

For more details see What is a lexile?.

Other details

288 pages

Condition

New

UK edition

Available in these packs

8books
Classic Sequels x8

usd prices

Price: $85.45

gbp prices

Price: £58.92
22books
New Titles Ages 9-11 Pack

usd prices

Price: $246.20

gbp prices

Price: £169.78

Author/Illustrator

Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen was born into a London Jewish family, the son of two distinguished educators – Connie and Harold Rosen. Michael’s childhood was rich in books, stories and conversation.

Michael attended Middlesex Hospital Medical School for a year but transferred to Wadham College, Oxford to study English Literature. At Oxford, he started to realise his ambition of acting (as well as writing and directing). Michael still says that if he wasn’t a poet, he’d like to be an actor. Anyone who has seen him in performance knows that he already is!

The narrowness of his course of study proved a source of dissatisfaction and Michael began looking outside his recommended reading to contemporary working, class ballads. He retains a passion for street rhymes, popular songs and folk stories.

Michael Rosen has been writing poetry since the age of 18. His first collection, Mind Your Own Business, was published in 1974. Although it was not planned as a collection for children, it appeared on Andre Deutsch’s children’s list. This, says Michael, was a turning point – “Suddenly it all fused: the writing, the performing, the popular audience. It was just incredibly exhilarating.”

He quickly made a name for himself with his collections of humorous verse and picture books for children. He is described as one of the most significant figures in contemporary children’s poetry, drawing closely on his own childhood experiences, and ‘telling it as it was’ in the ordinary language children actually use.

Michael is now a poet, author and broadcaster, and was Children’s Laureate from 2007-2009.

Tony Ross

Multi-award-winning Tony Ross has become one of the best-known creators of original and traditional picture books and his work has been published all over the world. As well as his own books, he has illustrated books for authors such as Roald Dahl, Paula Danziger and Michael Palin.