Starred Review. Grade 3-6–This wordless picture book adds a new twist to the Shakespeare canon for young audiences. When a boy"s wayward soccer ball lands inside a theater and suddenly transports its owner through time to the Globe, the Elizabethan era comes to life. Unfortunately, the lad"s sudden appearance on stage interrupts the performance, and the Bard himself, investigating the problem, suddenly slips on the ball and comes crashing down. He chases after the culprit, and the boy runs for his life. Fortunately, the mid-afternoon crowds provide much-needed camouflage from the angry playwright, and the child, after befriending a chained bear, leads his newfound grizzly companion into the Tower of London, where they free a Baron awaiting beheading. The three then embark down the Thames where they encounter the royal barge, and Elizabeth I is quite taken by the once-condemned Baron. As night descends, Shakespeare suddenly reappears, angrier than ever, and the boy and the bear barely escape with their skins. Just when all seems lost, the boy flees back to the Globe where, heading through the curtain, he finds himself once more safe and alone–in modern times. Rogers"s tale shows a very human facet of the Bard–his temper. The details portrayed in the pen-and-watercolor illustrations are true to the era. The cartoon paintings vary in size from tiny renderings to full-page spreads, and they are filled with movement and expressive faces. This sophisticated romp will attract the eyes of intermediate audiences, and could serve as a good prelude to the study of Shakespeare and his times.