Shakespeare's Monkey

Big Cat Read On supports fluent readers to improve their reading skills and nurture a love of reading. Consisting of a wide range of engaging chapter books, the Big Cat Read On series improves reading stamina and comprehension, develops vocabulary, and introduces children to more sophisticated narrative structures and themes.

A missing play. A runaway monkey. A boy’s first day on the job. What could possibly go wrong? The year is 1600, and Henry just wants to survive his first day as an apprentice at Griggs’s print shop. When a mischievous monkey steals pages from the only complete copy of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry is flung into a wild chase across London to get it back.

About the Author and Book Talk questions invite the reader to think more deeply about the themes in the book and reflect on their reading experience. Online lesson plans provide guidance in using this book in a range of settings, including independent, social and whole-class reading – all designed to support the reader to connect with the book and encourage a positive attitude to reading.

Tom Mitchell is mostly a dad, partly a teacher and sometimes a writer. He grew up in the West Country and settled in London after a brief interlude in the East Midlands. He lives in Kent with his wife, Nicky, and sons, Dylan and Jacob. He has written six middle-grade novels for HarperCollins Children's Books, with the latest being FIRST KID IN SPACE