Rap-Notes: Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

The complete stories of five of Shakespeare's most popular plays in rap and rhyme. Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream like you've never read them before. And you can download mp3s by professional rappers on I-tunes. Teachers and students read and listen to the rap before they read the play because it gives a real overview of these plays in a way that cuts through some of the difficult or archaic language and goes right to the heart of the stories themselves...with humor and rhyme. They're fun to listen to and easy to remember. It's a great way to get started on that Shakespearean play.

The complete stories of five of Shakespeare's most popular plays in rap and rhyme. Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream like you've never read them before. And you can download mp3s by professional rappers on I-tunes. Teachers and students read and listen to the rap before they read the play because it gives a real overview of these plays in a way that cuts through some of the difficult or archaic language and goes right to the heart of the stories themselves...with humor and rhyme. They're fun to listen to and easy to remember. One of the biggest hurdles students must overcome is understanding Shakespeare's language. Rap-Notes helps give students a context for each of the five great plays in a memorable, fun way that many students listen to over and over again. Result: before they read the play, they know tons more about it than they would have without Rap-Notes. It's a great way to get started on that Shakespearean play. And, when used with the mp3s on CD Baby or I-tunes, students can use their auditory senses along with their visual with the addition of lyrics, music and a hip-hop beat. Shakespeare was never more fun to learn.

Bob has been a writer for more than thirty years. His most recent book is "Rap-Notes: Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1," which is aimed at English teachers and middle- and high-school students. Five sets of rap lyrics tell the entire stories of "Hamlet," "Romeo and Juliet," "Macbeth," "King Lear," and "A Midusmmer Night's Dream." Available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and Xlibris.com. He also recorded professional rappers singing the five songs, available on CD Baby, I-Tunes and many other music streaming sites. You can watch a video of hip-hop dancers to Macbeth at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6nkCUa2CCc&feature=em-upload_owner Bob is a member of WCT and AERY Theatre in New York State. A four-time finalist in the AERY Festival, and semi-finalist in the Strawberry Festival, his plays have been performed off-off Broadway at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. In 2011, Bob wrote the book to a musical dramatic comedy, "The Seed of Abraham," for the FringeNYC Festival, which was performed at the famous Bleecker Street Theatre to standing room only crowds of more than 230. As an advertising copywriter, Bob has written and produced more than 100 commercials, winning a Clio and two Effies. He won an American Film Festival award for his documentary film, "Nadine Valenti, Portrait of a Painter." He teaches science in the Bronx.