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Macbeth United

by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Tony Ross

Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 9+

Published by Scholastic, 2020

About this book

In this reimagined version of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, 12-year-old football-mad Macbeth has a lot of talent on the field, but also has a bit of a liking for fouling the other players. He also has a burning desire to become captain of Shotfield football team, and is prepared to do whatever it takes.

Macbeth's hard-hearted mother also pushes him to succeed – getting ahead to get spotted by academy scouts, even if it means dirty tricks. But will Macbeth’s bad sportsmanship pay off? And is it ever worth winning at all costs?

Chock full of football commentary and with plenty of sporty detail for football-mad readers, Macbeth United also follows the plot of the famous play, with local radio sports announcers taking the place of the chorus and mysterious men on Hampstead Heath replacing the three witches. The tale has the same theme of a young man exploring the dark side of his personality, and the obsessive desire for power which will eventually lead him to disaster. It’s an interesting take for a football-themed book which very much captures the passion and obsession that can develop in the "Beautiful Game".

About the author

Michael Rosen is one of Britain’s best loved writers and performance poets for children and adults. His first degree in English Literature and Language was from Wadham College, Oxford and he went on to study for an MA at the University of Reading and a PhD at the former University of North London, now London Metropolitan.

He is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London where he co-devised and teaches critical approaches to reading on an MA in Children’s Literature, having done the same at Birkbeck, University of London. He has taught on MA courses in universities since 1994.

He was the Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009 and has published over 200 books for children and adults, including the recent bestseller Many Different Kinds of Love and On The Move.

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