Beware The Ides of March

A Storyteller’s Version of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar,
and The Story of Rome, as told by Jim Weiss on CD
$13.45, www.greathall.com, ages 7 to adult
Beware the Ides of March. From Jim Weiss, winner of countless awards for his unparalleled storytelling, come some excellent additions to the Greathall collection. Weiss has a way of drawing listeners into a story and keeping them thoroughly entertained, and my husband and I are delighted when listening pulls our kids away from less educational electronic distractions. I can’t think of a better introduction to this timeless tragedy by Shakespeare than hearing it brought to life by Weiss with a variety of voice characterizations that keep the story moving. Weiss weaves excerpts from Julius Caesar in such a seamless fashion that kids will think they’ve read the entire classic. The Story of Rome includes background information to help set the scene for Julius Ceasar which follows, and is full of interesting anecdotes and facts I never learned in school. The CD ends with an epilogue called “What Happened Afterward.” There’s no better way to pass a long car journey with children than with Jim Weiss as your companion.