The second in the Shakespeare's Paragon series, this volume continues where Shakespeare's Zoo left off, pairing the lesser-known words of the great William Shakespeare with Laudea Martin's incredible textured illustrations. Just as with a simple phrase, a line, or even part of a line in a poem or play, Shakespeare is able to convey the richness of a scene, so, too, can Laudea Martin capture the essence of an animal with her illustrations.

William Shakespeare was famous for many phrases that we still use today; these are not those phrases. Included in this book are the often overlooked snippets that refer to animals of all kinds-some in general terms, and some very specific. Some even reflect common misunderstandings about the natural world that were prevalent at the time.

The context of each of these lines is missing, and it doesn't matter. The animals in question may even have been referred to metaphorically in the original work. Here, each page is a work of art, made up of words and textures (some familiar, some not so familiar) representing some of the animals mentioned by Shakespeare.

This volume, Shakespeare's Menagerie, includes: raven, butterfly, horse, frog, mole, fly, ape, swan, barnacle, snail, tiger, mouse, beetle, wren, sheep, whale, adder, eagle, elephant, chameleon, and stag.

Other books in the series:

Shakespeare's Zoo includes: falcon, eel, baboon, robin, bee, lizard, cricket, dove, camel, bat, crocodile, owl, fish, calf, parrot, crab, urchin, unicorn, spider, cat, and fox.

Shakespeare's Complete Paragon includes: all of the above.
About the Author: A very old (c. 1896) and well-loved boxed set of the complete works of William Shakespeare, which once belonged to Laudea's great grandmother, graces her overstuffed bookshelves. It was Laudea's determination to read all of them one summer that sparked her interest in the richness of Shakespeare's written words. Laudea (pronounced: LAH-dee-ah) has also long been a fan of all kinds of animals, and could spend hours simply watching them be. Each new line discovered while creating her illustrations deepens Laudea's understanding of the myriad ways in which animals move and live. Laudea loves experimenting with new art techniques, and her favorite pieces of art are those that make you want to reach out and touch them. Though Laudea occupies most of her time creating art, thinking about art, or reading, she also takes some time to teach local students about both art and animals (often at the same time). Laudea lives in Portland, Oregon.