My son Sam had to read this for his English class, and I was a little worried. Shakespeare? In 6th grade? He's more of a graphic novel kind of kid. But he actually seemed to enjoy “What's So Special About Shakespeare?” by Michael Rosen. He kept telling me little facts he learned, like how Shakespeare made up words that we still use. It's not just a boring biography or summary of plays, it talks about the world Shakespeare lived in and what made his plays so popular back then. It's definitely not a play-by-play of Hamlet, thank goodness.
Sam actually finished this book, which is a win in itself. He said the writing was pretty clear, and there were some funny parts. He pointed out a few of the illustrations, which are simple but helped break up the text. He did say that the part about the history of the theater was a bit dry, but he got through it. It wasn't super long, so even when he wasn't thrilled with a section, it didn't drag on forever. He definitely got more out of it than I expected.
This is an AR book, and it's a level 6.3. That seemed accurate for Sam, who’s in 6th grade. It's worth 2.0 points, so it's a decent payoff for a relatively short book with a word count of just over 11,000 words. It felt like a good length for introducing the subject without overwhelming him.
I think this book is best for a kid who’s curious about history or language, or maybe just needs a decent book to fulfill an assignment about Shakespeare. If your kid hates non-fiction or struggles with reading comprehension, this might be a tough one. But if they're even slightly open to learning about Shakespeare, Rosen does a good job of making it interesting without being stuffy.