The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion by Ann Bausum (review)

Reviewed by: The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion by Ann Bausum Meg Cornell Bausum, Ann The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion; illus. by Marta Sevilla. Peachtree, 2024 [112p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781682634950 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781682636367 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 6-8 This lively nonfiction work introduces young readers to both the First Folio and how Shakespeare's plays were preserved in print for generations to come. Blithely killing off the brilliant Bard in Act 1, Bausum goes on to present the basics about early modern theatrical production, printing processes, and book binding. Fun facts about early print culture—like the origin of capital and lowercase letters from printing press technology, or how "roles" are given to actors because of the "rolls" [End Page 241] of paper providing their character's lines—give middle grade readers a fascinating look at early modern practices of reading and writing. Bausum consistently threads the needle with winking humor and real interest, including how the Barton Folio is thought of as the "Farting Folio" for its barnyard-like smell, or explaining the way a young apprentice's wretched spelling helps identify his specific contributions in the First Folio canon. While a snarky, theatrical tone of voice may invite as many young readers as it turns off, overall, the book strikes a good balance between respecting laborious early modern work and using humor to connect with a potentially skeptical contemporary audience. Sevilla's illustrative flair complements the book's educational contents, including gorgeous marbling that imitates the unique early modern book covers and extremely charming animal portraits of actors and book-eating pests (including a certain famous bear and its fellow actors, exeunt-ing). Typography and layouts similarly serve to set the stage for facsimile-feeling, well targeting the audience of Bard-lovers this book is aimed at. Backmatter is impressively compiled, including a lovely catalog of First Folio contents, a note from the author, research notes, additional resources, play citations, secondary source citations, and an expansive bibliography.