I remember rather liking Branagh's Hamlet, although, yes, it is a mighty ego-trip. But lots of things to like about it. Just....probably easier to cope with if it were a mini-series.

Meanwhile, on a related note, I've just read The Dead Fathers Club, which is narrated by an 11 year old boy whose father has just died, and whose uncle is cozying up to his mother, and who then sees the ghost of his father popping up clamouring for vengeance...

I enjoyed it a lot, in no small part for the prose - which, God help me, is wholly sans apostrophes or commas, but is, nevertheless, crammed with very sharp observations and original turns of phrase, and does a terrific job of evoking the world through the eyes of a kid.

I'm a little more iffy on the various Hamlet parallels. There were times when I just wasn't sure why he wasn't going the whole hog - but it's definitely worth a look, imho.

I really liked Branagh's Hamlet, but I had just taken two classes on Shakespeare. Still, I can see the need to cut things for a live performance. However, if you are studying it as literature, I don't think anything should be skipped.

The second book I'm positive had been translated from either Norwegian or Swedish. The main characters were a brother and sister who stumble into some kind of dastardly plot to steal something. I don't remember the nefarious intentions offhand, but what stuck in my head was that they used Morse code to communicate when one of them was tied up to the pipes in a basement by the bad guy.

Aghh! This is so familiar, I know that I read this book. I'm coming up completely blank on any details beyond your description. Frustrating!

The whole bible, for reals? I mean, I did read it, but it didn't lend itself to the sort of absorption I associate with a high school lit class. Massive chunks of it went in and then right out.

Don't know yet. I might assign chunks to various people and have them work together to present the stories.

The ish is that many of my kids miss allusions all the time and just a sort of general knowledge should help. Like one should know the difference between Noah and Jonah. Or who Lot was. Or even Job. Moreover, they should have a working knowledge of the Lazarus story, along with something about John the Baptist, at least for what we read.

My sophomore lit teacher in hs had us read Billy Budd, and she spent weeks going over every single allusion in it. If we knew the allusion ahead of time, all the better; otherwise, she was going to make sure we knew it afterward. Since it was a Catholic college-prep high school, we did know a lot of the Bible references beforehand.

I think that Branagh's Hamlet works a lot better on DVD. You can take a break between acts, which helps. I saw it in the theater, an (now closed) artsy theater with less than cushy seating. When I rented it I just made an afternoon of it, and it was pretty good. I still don't think I've seen anything I'd call the definitive performance of Hamlet,though. Branagh's Henry V (with bonus bits of IV) made me go, "There. That's the Henry V I wanted to see and didn't know it."

The ish is that many of my kids miss allusions all the time and just a sort of general knowledge should help

Sounds like they need bible stories more than the bible itself. There's a lot left over, and it's the sort of stuff that can put one off the whole work.

Branagh's Henry V (with bonus bits of IV) made me go, "There. That's the Henry V I wanted to see and didn't know it."

ITA. It really is a great adaptation, with excellent casting--Branagh, Jacobi, Brian Blessed (love him as Exeter!!), Paul Scofield, Thompson, and Robert Stephens, father of Toby, husband of Maggie Smith, recently re-emerged from the bottom of the bottle he spent the '60s and '70s in and just nailing the part of Pistol.

The second book I'm positive had been translated from either Norwegian or Swedish. The main characters were a brother and sister who stumble into some kind of dastardly plot to steal something. I don't remember the nefarious intentions offhand, but what stuck in my head was that they used Morse code to communicate when one of them was tied up to the pipes in a basement by the bad guy.

Aghh! This is so familiar, I know that I read this book. I'm coming up completely blank on any details beyond your description. Frustrating!

Was it Number the Stars by Lois Lowry?

Or....

******

Bernie Magruder and the Case of the Big Stink
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Bernie Magruder and his family live in the Bessledorf Hotel. Mr. Magruder is the manager and the family wants to be sure that the hotel is safe and well run so that their dad will not be fired. One day, Bernie's sister, Delores, comes home from the parachute factory, Middleburg's main employer. She has been gassed. The police suspect that the crazy gasser lives at the Bessledorf Hotel. Bernie, Georgene and Weasel decide to find the culprit. They devise a plan to investigate each of the residents to be sure that the hotel is not hiding the crazy gasser. When the next attack occurs, the police inspector reenacts the crime. Suddenly the door opens and Hildegarde comes in with her mop and bucket. They found the gas but not the gasser. When Bernie and his friends discover the Mad Gasser in the hotel, they are held hostage. Using Morse code they signal where they are and who is the real Mad Gasser. The whole thing is a scheme to shut down the parachute factory and extort money. Bernie and his friends are real heroes. They save the parachute factory and Dad's job as the hotel manager is secure. 2001, Aladdin Paperbacks, Ages 8 to 12, $4.99. Reviewer: Karen Werner ISBN: 0-689-84128-0