'All the World's a Stage' edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Guy Billout (LS 5663)

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2013. All the World's a Stage. Illustrated by Guy Billout. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.

ISBN: 987-1-56846-218-9

Photo of cover by L. Propes

All the World's a Stage is a compilation of twenty-one short poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins that relate in some way to one of the seven ages of man, as described in the famous "All the World's a Stage" speech from William Shakespeare's play As You Like It.  The book is divided into seven parts, each linked to one of the ages of man detailed in the speech: "the infant... the whining school-boy... the lover... a soldier..." middle age, the beginnings of old age, and finally one who is elderly and infirm.  Three poems, each by a different poet, illustrate or expand upon each age.  The poems are sparsely accompanied with whimsical drawings by Guy Billout, with about two drawings per age.  The poets represented on the pages range from well known nineteenth-century poets like Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Walt Whitman to more modern poets like J. Patrick Lewis and Janet S. Wong.  Bennett includes other less-well known (at least to me) poets like Madeleine Comora and Joan Bransfield Graham.

Bennett and Billout introduce each age with a two-page illustration that depicts the age in question with a quote from the "All the World's a Stage" monologue.  The illustrations feature the "one man in his time" -- a baby crawling across the floor, investigating the space, a soldier sitting under a tree, with his head resting on his drawn-up knees, clearly exhausted, and an old man with a cane in the exact same room as the baby in the first drawing, representing the cyclical nature of life as laid out in Shakespeare's monologue.  Some of the drawings with the poems themselves are specific to the theme of one of the poems, and others do more to capture the mood of age.

Photo of Billout drawing by L. Propes

The majority of the poems won't necessarily appeal to a young audience, despite the picture book format of the book.  Some of the poems will appeal to younger audiences, but a librarian or teacher needs to choose carefully.  "You and Me" by Rebecca Kai Dotlich touches on a common experience with children when their parents bring home a new baby brother or sister.  "Now" by Prince Redcloud will appeal to all students, with its brief, but poignant, lamentation that summer is ending and school will begin soon, especially at the beginning of the school year.  Most of the poems will, with a thoughtful introduction, appeal to some middle grade students and many high school students.  Some of the themes, especially as the "man in his time" ages, might be too mature for some middle grades, and yet, some middle grade students might understand it perfectly.  Again, it is incumbent on the teacher and/or librarian to carefully consider their audience and choose the poems to share accordingly.

Photo of Billout drawing by L. Propes

The poems touch on a variety of subjects: the thrill of a first touch by a crush, a father's elation at finally leaving a combat zone to see his new baby daughter, the loneliness of an old woman during the holidays, and ageing in general.  The poems are all excellent expansions of the themes of the "All the World's a Stage" monologue and rarely wallow in sentiment, unless the mood behind poem calls for it.  Overall, the poems also present a wide range of moods -- somber, exasperated, loving, contemplative.  The poems are generally fairly short, but they offer students a chance to expand their figurative language skills.  The poem "Years" by Cynthia Cotten, in particular allows teachers to provide easily digestible examples of figurative language, such as comparing the memories of an elderly person to fluttering butterflies.  "Take a Lump of Clay" by Kuan Tao-Sheng compares a married couple to statues that have been broken to pieces, the shards mixed together, and combined into statues once more, this time made up of bits of each other.  Some of the poems have a more meditative quality than others, but other poems, like "Winter Rabbit" by Madeleine Comora which portrays a child's first experience with death, have an emotional impact that is quiet on the surface, but gives a reader the opportunity to explore the emotional depths underneath.  Some of the poems make good use of rhythm to emphasize certain lines or highlight a specific mood, which is seen best in "Eighty-Eight" by Lee Bennett Hopkins.  Hopkins skillfully uses pauses to illustrate the bleakness of the old woman's situation as she celebrates a lonely Christmas.  The pauses in "Now" coupled with short sentences and a staccato rhythm reflect the inevitable sadness of the end of summer and the beginning of school.

The book contains several access features for ease of use.  It has a table of contents and three indices where a reader can look up poets by author, title, or first line.

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Spotlight On...


"Memory Trees" by Kate Coombs

It started when she was a girl
and the neighbour boy died in France.
My great-aunt planted a tree
In memory of her friend, Lance.

Photo of Billout drawing by L. Propes

"Every time I turn around,"
she says, "there's another war.
Grace just lost her grandson,
and I know there'll be more."

My great-aunt has an orchard.
To me all the trees look the same.
But she touches every trunk we pass
and tells me each one's name.

(2013, 20)
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All three of the poems in the section titled "Act Four: War" are actually perfect for use with Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day, but "Memory Trees" is the best one out of the three.  I would introduce the poem by asking students how we remember soldiers who have died, and hopefully the students will make the connections to Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day ceremonies and tangible reminders of soldiers and others that have lost their lives in times of conflict (the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., the cenotaph in Victory Square in downtown Vancouver, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, for example).

I would next read the poem once and give the students a few minutes to think about it, then read it a few more times.  I would give the students a few minutes to reflect on the poem, perhaps jotting down a few thoughts in a journal.

As an activity, I would ask the students to think about how they remember people in their lives who have died or live far away.  It can be a family member or a close friend.  The students would then write a poem (format of their choice) that reflects it.  The poem needs to clearly reflect how and what the students do to remember someone special to them.  An example of this could include a poem about baking a grandmother's signature pie recipe or the event behind a photo with a best friend who lives far away.  If the class wanted, they could use a Web 2.0 tool like Storybird to compile their poems into a book.

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Coombs, Kate. 2013. "Memory Trees." All the World's a Stage. Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Guy Billout, 20. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.