Shakespeare’s Secret
Shakespeare’s Secret. Broach, Elise; Henry Holt & Company, 2005
Grade Level: 6-8
ISBN-10 & Cost: 0-805-07387-6 (hardback) $16.95
ISBN-10 & Cost: 1-844-28207-4 (paperback) $ 5.99
ISBN-10 & Cost: 0-786-28735-7 (large print) $22.95
ISBN-13: 978-0-786-28735-2 (audio download Recorded Books)
Synopsis: Have you ever been the “new kid” at school? Hero Netherfield is and she a rather unfortunate first day at school. After school she stops by at her neighbor’s house and learns some interesting things about the house into which her family has moved. It has to do with a very valuable diamond, thought by some to still be in the house. Her desire to solve the mystery takes many twists and turns as she makes friend in her new setting.
General Review: School Library Journal
Grade 4-7–Hero has always hated her Shakespearean-based name, for, as her new sixth-grade classmates are quick to tell her, it's better suited to a dog than to a girl. Resigned to their constant teasing, she concentrates instead on her newfound friendship with her kindly, if somewhat eccentric, elderly next-door neighbor. Mrs. Roth tells Hero about the missing "Murphy Diamond," a precious jewel that supposedly disappeared from the house where Hero now lives. Mrs. Roth has the necklace that once held the diamond, an heirloom that possibly once belonged to Anne Boleyn, and she is convinced that it is still hidden in the vicinity. She and Hero set out to find what the police could not, and, with help from Danny, a popular yet self-assured eighth grader who befriends them both, they succeed. Only then do the real connections among the three of them come to the surface and change their lives forever. The mystery alone will engage readers, but Broach adds a number of other interesting details to entice her audience. Readers will also find numerous facts about Elizabethan history, theories about Shakespeare's writings, and, perhaps most importantly, a moral but not preachy tale. The main characters are all well developed, and the dialogue is both realistic and well planned. Girls will relate to Hero and the defenses that she uses to protect herself from being hurt by the cruel comments and behaviors of difficult classmates. This is a good choice for recreational reading but also useful as an intro to either the complexities of Shakespeare or the tenets of good mystery writing.–Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan,
General Themes: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 – authorship, Henry VIIII, 1509-1547, Elizabeth, 1558- 1547, Edward de Vere, Mystery and detective stories.
Author Information:
http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2005/08/author-interview-elise-broach-on.html
Discussion Questions : Standard 3 Benchmark 3
1. Have you ever been the “new kid”? What happens to Hero on her first day at a new school? Talk about ways to include rather than exclude people who are new a school, a club, a neighborhood, a country.
2. How does one solve a mystery? What steps did Hero and Danny take? Were they thorough?
3. Why do you think Danny decided to help Hero find out more and look for the diamond?
4. Are the Netherfield’s a believable family? Why or why not?
5. Is picking on a younger sibling by an older sibling bullying? Why or why not?
Activities :
1. List the qualities of the main characters in this story. Choose 2 or 3 and write/tell why these are important qualities to have. Standard 2 Benchmark 2
2. Hero’s father is a Shakespearean scholar and named both of his children for characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Find out how you were named. What does your name mean? Standard 5 Benchmark 3
3. The story mentions the possibility that Shakespeare may not have authored the many works attributed to him. Do some research on him, Edward de Vere, Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I. Write a persuasive essay defending who you think is the true author. Standard 5 Benchmark 3
4. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Hero and her sister Beatrice. Standard 3 Benchmark 1