Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

This is a wonderful installment of the Stink series. Stink goes with his friend to Shakespeare camp over break, where it turns out that he is the only boy! He wants to stay and learn sword-fighting and to curse like Shakespeare, but he'll have to avoid getting kissed by his sometimes friend/sometimes nemesis Riley. The activity in the book never stops and readers may find themselves speaking a little Shakespearean when they're done.

In the last 6 years I have read 40 books with the Moody’s. From the Judy moody Series, The Stink Series, The Judy and Stink books, and most recently the Judy Moody and Friend’s series. I started reading these books before I had kids, and now read them with my three children ages 11, 10 and 7. The Moody books are family favorites and we always look forward to a new book in any of the four series, and this book was another great read! I have yet to read anything by either McDonald or Reynolds that was not a great read. And tis book, these series are great for kids to read or to read with kids. We are at the point that my oldest two can read the Stink books by themselves or to the youngest. Or like this one we can take turns reading pages and worked through the book on a rainy afternoon.

This book is a big change for Stink. He has a girl interested in him. Stink and one of his best friends Sophie are at a camp called Shakespeare Sprite during spring break. When Stink gets there the first day he is the only boy. And Riley Rottenberger has promised him that he will get a great big kiss before the end of the week at camp. For the most part camp is fun, they learn Shakespeare insults, sword play and stage fighting. By the end of the week they will each get to be in a scene and their parents and friends can come. Stink’s fear of the kiss and the shenanigans surrounding that add some fun to the story. Both his sister Judy and Sophie help his make a shield to fend off the dreaded Rottenberger. They go to a community production of the cursed play, and Stink says the ‘M’ word several times.

Reading this book raised a lot of questions about Shakespeare. It is great to get younger children interested in the story. My kids immediately made the connection to Gnomeo and Juliette. And asked if any other movies or plays were appropriate. And living not far from Stratford Ontario and one of the largest Shakespeare festivals in the world helps draw their interest even more.

This book would be a fun read for young fans of drama or children who like to put on performances (my girls). My son loved the stage fighting and sword play lessons in the book. For fans of the Stink books it is a great addition to the series. The book is entertaining for children and for those of us who read to or with them.

I've been a fan of this series since Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express. These books fly off the shelf at my library. Now I can't honestly say I've read them all, just a smattering, but have always found them to be entertaining. I received this one from Netgalley to review, and found the tale just as much fun as ever! I think it was smart of Megan McDonald throw Stink into a Shakespeare group. Too few children are encountering Shakespeare, which is a shame, and the middle English language, which I recall even us grade schoolers back in the 1960's understood. I wonder who dropped the ball?? Anyway, nice intro to the Bard! There is some issue with Riley being after Stink; she's interested in him and tries to corner him for kisses. I guess it can be seen as sexual harassment, but it seems right behavior for the age-10-12. Not to condone it, someone maybe needs to have a talk with the young lady about appropriate behavior. And this book just might kick on a discussion concerning it! So- lots of cool insight in one book! great addition to the series.

A fun transitional chapter book series for kids ready to try longer material. The Shakespeare angle on this was a lot of fun - acting in death scenes, sword fighting, Shakespearean insults, etc. I really enjoyed that piece of this. I have enjoyed this series since the very first book. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the whole story as much as I have previous books in this series.

There's a side plot where Stink is trying to avoid a girl who wants to kiss him. On one level "it's harmless, it's kids," etc. But it seemed unnecessary that a chunk of the story is devoted to kissing - for elementary students. Add in the fact that our culture is dealing with issues of sexual harassment and consent, and this felt like a story that is out of touch for the issues of the day. To some readers this will be a minor thing, but for me, it really tainted the whole reading experience.

Judy Moody's brother is back with his 11th adventure - and he's going to Shakespeare camp! Stink and his friend Sophie head to camp for spring break, where they'll learn to sword fight and yell silly curses, like "fat guts" and "stewed prune". The only problem? Riley Rottenberger is at Shakespeare camp, too, and she's determined to land a kiss on Stink! Stink does his best to avoid Riley while getting ready to act in the camp's production of the Scottish play... yes, the Play That Shall Not Be Named (psst... it's MacBeth). This latest story is loaded with black and white illustrations, callout boxes of Shakespeare insults and fun facts, and a good story for Stink and Judy Moody fans. For readers who want to learn a little more about Shakespeare, a copy of Where's Will? Find Shakespeare Hidden in His Plays (Kane Miller, 2016) combines Shakespeare with Where's Waldo; the Stratford Zoo graphic novel series depicts zoo animals putting on Shakespearean plays with loads of backstage hilarity.

It’s spring break and Stink joins Sophie of the Elves at Shakespeare Camp. Webster is in Mexico for spring break and with the promise of learning swordplay and Shakespeare type insults (Maggot pie!), Stink is convinced that being a Shakespeare Sprite will be fun. Except Sophie of the Elves neglects to mention two important points about camp:
1. Stink will be the only boy at camp 😳
2. One particular girl, Riley Rottenberger, will also be there. 🤮

While Riley is sometimes a friend and sometimes an enemy, she’s certainly annoying Stink in this book as she spends most of the camp trying to smooch, follow and otherwise harass him. Usually I find Riley an amusing annoyance in Stink stories but in this one there was no amusement, only annoyance.

Call me oversensitive if you like but if this was a book aimed at teens Riley’s behaviour would be in sexual harassment territory so I’m not so sure I liked it being made a joke of in this book. I pondered this while reading and I still enjoyed the book but this behaviour didn’t sit right with me.

I hadn’t realised the impact of the interplay between the three main characters until this book where Webster is absent. While it was still entertaining I did miss the banter between Stink, Webster and Sophie of the Elves. Without Webster there to add his personality to the mix some of the charm of my favourite Stink books, like Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk and Stink and the Shark Sleepover, was missing.

I don’t know how young readers will manage with the thee, thy and thou language along with the rest of the Shakespeare-speak. It’s a good introduction to some of the themes and stories of the Bard but that language can be intimidating when you first come across it.

I would have loved to have known the contents of Riley’s letter, although to be fair I read an ARC sans illustrations and it’s possible the letter’s contents may be shown in one of the illustrations.

I was disappointed I didn’t get to see the illustrations while I was reading but based on having already read most of both the Stink and Judy Moody series I know Peter H. Reynolds will come through in this book too. His illustrations are always spot on in both series, bringing the characters and scenes to life in a humourous way. I will make a point of borrowing this book from my library once it’s released to fill in the pieces that my imagination has missed or gotten wrong.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Stink! My kids love these books. Any stories that are clean , a great story and gets my kids reading. This is one of this stories.

This is a really fun installment in the Stink series. Stink attends Shakespeare camp during spring break, where he learns Shakespearean insults and prepares and performs a scene from a play. I was impressed by the way the author makes Shakespeare accessible to chapter book readers without dumbing down his work. I also like the fact that Stink is enthusiastic about studying Shakespeare on his own, without being forced by a parent. The emphasis on swordplay and verbal sparring highlights the key aspects of Shakespeare that are particularly appealing to kids, and guides them away from the popular idea they can sometimes develop that Shakespeare is difficult or irrelevant to their interests.

The fact that Stink is the only boy at the camp adds an interesting dynamic to the story that will resonate with many elementary schoolers. Stink also worries that one of the girls will try to kiss him before the end of camp, a concern which provides fodder for a few humorous moments. This is the stuff of playground interactions in the early elementary grades, and Megan McDonald has a great ear for the way kids speak to one another at this age.

Hamlet and Cheese would be a great book to share with a child who is beginning to read stories based on Shakespeare's plays (or the plays themselves) as well as any child who has an affinity for stage acting. It's also sure to please established fans of the series, who will be glad to share another adventure with Stink.

I've read a few Judy Moody books in my day but this is my first Stink book and I definitely enjoyed the experience. The book was funny and I loved that it actually taught a lot about Shakespeare and even contained a few lines from it. The only negative thing, though it's a big drawback due to the target age, is that it contains some Shakespearean language that kids might have a hard time understanding. It's targeted at kids starting to read chapter books so they're still learning how to read a lot of words and learning a lot of vocabulary. Most of the words I think they can get from context but it would make the book even harder for kids to read. Otherwise, I loved the book and definitely recommend the series and the main series with Stink's sister, Judy.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

A new Stink book! I just adore the Stink and Judy books (Judy is still my favourite though), and I was delighted when I spotted this book on Netgalley, of course I had to read it. Of course I had to get it now!

This time Spring Break, Shakespeare, camp, and more! Stink is tempted by his best friend to participate in the Shakespeare camp at college. Which means sword-fighting, swearing in a creative way (which had me laugh so much), learning new things, acting, expressions, it just seemed so much fun that I wanted to step in the story and participate! How to make kids like Shakespeare 101 right here. Show them that it isn't all boring, but that there is lots of interesting things to it.

Plus the kids go to see a play (Macbeth) and learn about a curse. It was fun to see them enjoy the play and also learn more about Macbeth.

I had a laugh at the fact that Stink was the only boy at the camp. I guess all the other boys weren't interested. :P

Of course we also see Judy (yay!). She even helps out her brother with the whole Riley situation.

I hated Riley though. Girl, please, just get the hint. He doesn't want you, you are being annoying, creepy and bleh, just give up or stop being so obsessed about Stink. It really ruined the story for me as it was a big part of the story. Sure, she had some good moments, but generally I just wanted to push her away and out of the story. To be deleted forever.

Though I am very sad, I just adore this series, and the illustrations are a BIG part of that. So I was all looking forward to seeing all sorts of fun new illustrations... instead what I got was: Illustrations to come in big or small grey squares... :( I get that this is an ARC (though generally illustrations are present), but if I had known there wouldn't be any illustrations.. I would have waited for the book to actually come out. :( So I am giving this book -1 star less because of this.

But all in all, a laugh out loud, fun, cute book! Would recommend it!