Edcon Publishing Group
30 Montauk Boulevard
Oakdale, NY 11769-1399
631-567-7227

Edcon Publishing Group is bringing Shakespeare and other classics to life in a high interest and low readability series of books. Two Gentlemen of Verona (TGV) has been edited to bring it to a grade 3 reading level. If you are looking to introduce your younger child (2nd to 5th grade reading level) to Shakespeare, you will definitely want to check out Edcon Publishing. TGV begins each chapter with a key word pronunciation guide and word definitions. Some chapters also include character information and geographic locations of key places. Each chapter ends with a comprehension and vocabulary check. I picked up TGV with a great degree of apprehension. I have read several very poorly written adaptations of William Shakespeare, and I was worried this would be another second-rate edition. I was very pleased to find that Edcon Publishing Group had done a high-quality job of making the writings of Shakespeare available to beginning and reluctant readers. I will certainly purchase other copies in this series for my 3rd grader. I did not ask my daughter to do either the comprehension page or vocabulary check. I prefer oral narration to fill in the blank exercise pages. This does not mean that I found these pages a waste of time. Because TGV was written for the public school classroom, the inclusion of busywork is essential to large classroom management. If you are looking for easy reading classics for a reluctant reader, check out Edcon Publishing Group. --Product Review by: Tina Rice, Staff Writer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine