Claudius is sus

Published by

Jenn

on

June 12, 2026

Zhen (13) and I have been reading a kid-friendly retelling of Hamlet. I found this great find at our local public library!

I thought reading Hamlet For Kids (by Lois Burdett) together would be a fun way to introduce Zhen to Shakespeare without overwhelming her with heavy Elizabethan English.

I found this kid-friendly retelling of Hamlet at the public library! 📚🤓

Today, we read the part of the drama when Hamlet sees his father’s ghost and the ghost tells him Claudius killed Hamlet’s father.

“What does prophetic soul mean?” Zhen asked after reading the passage.

I broke it down for her by asking her to think of what a prophet means and what they do.

I explained, “So, this is basically Hamlet’s poetic way of saying, ‘I knew it! I knew it was my Uncle Claudius!’ Hamlet was suspicious of his uncle, and now the ghost has confirmed those suspicions.”