Customer Reviews

Shrek

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This was a family favorite for years before the film came out. Nothing against the film, which is a hoot, but the Shrek of William Steig's book is FAR lustier in his awfulness than the movie Shrek. He absolutely REVELS in his disgusting characteristics, and ends up meeting a princess who is the ugliest, most smelly, most horrific thing he's ever seen in his life. Naturally, he falls madly in love! They quote monster poetry to each other:

Sadi Shrek, "Your horny warts, your rosy wens, like slimy bogs and fusty fens, thrill me."

Said the princess, "Your lumpy nose, your pointy head, your wicked eyes, so livid red, just kill me."

Was ever a romance so beautifully begun?!?? This is wonderful, wonderful stuff. Steig absolutely revels in making these two creatures as awful as possible, and young readers (and not so young!) will enjoy the fun that Steig clearly had writing and illustrating this classic book.

We knew Shrek long before there was a movie. William Steig has once again created an unforgettable character. Kids will love how Shrek revels in his own hideousness!

Steig challenges the reader with a high level vocabulary such as fusty fens, varlets and peasants scything blithely, and churlish knaves falling into stagnant moats.

Anyone who just saw Shrek and is looking for some sort of movie novelization should go elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, we all loved the movie, but it is only VERY loosely based on this book. The donkey is more given to chomping grass than making wisecracks, for instance.

I would recommend this book to parents of little boys and encourage you to check out other works by this author.

For Pete's sake, doesn't anyone read books anymore?? NO, it's not the movie. It's a book. This book is loosely related to the movie, but it is not the movie, it is completely different. And if first graders can't figure out that there are books that don't reflect movies word for word then I despair for our educational system.

My five year old asked to see the movie and I required that he let me read him the book first. He thought the book was hysterical (it was THE bedtime book for a week), he thought the movie was great, and he was completely clear on the point that they were done separately. Same with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (great book, great movie, barely related plots and characters), same with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, same with a lot of great books and the movies that Disney (et al) makes of them.

Steig in general does a good job with the picture book format plus a more challenging vocabulary. I really enjoy reading his books -- they're not dumbed down, and they really use the language to its best effect. It means that there are probably not a ton of kids who can read them themselves at the age they're most likely to appreciate them, but that's what makes for great readalouds. Poetic, well-written, and silly, all together. Doctor De Soto is another favorite, as well as Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. They're all excellent books, with or without multi-million dollar movies made after them.

Once upon a time there was an ogre named Shrek. Uglier and nastier than any other ogre, he set out on a quest to win the hand of a princess even uglier than him. What challenges must this loathsome creature overcome to win the love of his life?

I must admit that I got this book to answer some questions that I had left over from the movie of the same name. Unfortunately, there is very little that the movie and the book have in common. So, if you are looking for a book based on the movie, check out the one by Ellen Weiss.

That said, however, this is a hilarious book! My seven-year-old son loved this Shrek's grossness, and laughed his way through the story. The illustrations are a little primitive, but go along with the story quite nicely. If you are into "fractured fairytales," as I am, then you must get this book!

This is the book that the movie "Shrek" is based on, and if you've read many books that were made into movies you'll know that "based on" can be a very liberal term sometimes. This is such a case. The only things that the movie and the book share are there being an ogre named Shrek, a donkey (who only appears briefly), and a princess (who is very different from the movie princess, but I don't want to ruin anything by saying more). The similarities end there.

This book is a lot of fun and is filled with art such as you see in the cover picture above, and kids will love it, but the best way to sum up the differences is that the movie was something made for adults that kids will enjoy as well, while the book is something written for children that adults can enjoy.

"Shrek" the book is a piece of children's literature and would be a great addition to a child's library because, like the movie, it is a non-traditional fairy tale, and it's always good to see things from someone else's point of view. Once you read one of Steig's books, you are bound to get more.

I loved this book long before the dumb old movie came out and I knew I'd be sorely disappointed if they didn't get it right and turn the magic from the book onto the screen.... and while it was annoying that they made Shrek's 'ugly' wife so cute even in ogre form (I guess they were afraid to really make her ugly like in the book, the only thing I see about her when she turns ogre is she's heavier and being heavy doesn't make a person ugly) the whole moral behind Steig's story is "Accept yourself just the way you are" or something along the lines of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and the movie, while funny with great voice actors, really messes with that moral.... Princess Fiona is the thin archetype of today's societal idea of beauty while her 'ogre' form is a heavyset, still cute, yet inferred to as ugly form of herself.... not only that, but Shrek does not accept himself the way he is during the movie... the funniest part about the book is Shrek's complete confidence and love of his own 'flaws' (or what others see as flaws in him) the illustrations aren't primitive at all. They are charming and wonderful...and couldn't possibly be improved upon... If you want the movie go see it, if you want something better- read the book.... especially if you like a bad pun now and then. William Steig is a genious. I wish the movie hadn't been made because now this wonderful book will be compared to it - and it should never have had to be more charming than Mike Meyer's or Cameran Diaz or Eddie Murphy's jokes. It stands on it's own apart from the movie... Steig's book was really too cool for him to sell away the rights to the storyline and let them screw it up the way they did. In otherwords: read the book, love the book.... take your kid out to see the movie and laugh at the kind of entertainment you can see on comedy central anyday... but read the book out loud in a storyteller voice with wild gesticulations at bed time to your child and sing-song the crooney old witches voice... then kiss your child and put them to bed to dream of wilder things than the imagination can aspire to. This book was MADE to read out loud to children. William Steig is a children's literature demi-God. I love him, love him, LOVE HIM! *grin*

William Steig is an all time favorite of mine - and now of my children. And Shrek is our most favorite Steig book. We love the silly descriptions of how horrid Shrek is and how he loves stinky, ugly and repulsive things. We especially love the dialogue between Shrek and his new found princess. I would recommend this book to any one with children age 4 and up.

When they came along, the moviemakers took a great deal of artistic license. Little of the book remains intact in the movie. The book starts with Shrek's parents hissing things over, and they decide to send Shrek "out in the world [to do] his share of damage". Shortly after he leaves home, Shrek meets with a witch who tells him his fortune in exchange for a few of Shrek's lice. Shrek is told that he will wed a princess who is even uglier than he, and is overjoyed at the news. On his way to the princess, Shrek meets a peasant, confronts thunder and lightning, defeats a dragon, has a nightmare of being loved by children, and meets a donkey who takes him to the castle. After defeating a knight he goes and meets his princess. The two get married and live horribly ever after.

The story is well told, and I love how Shrek breaks out in rhyme at the sight of his princess. The words flow well, and the book is fun to read out loud.

The illustrations of Shrek are, by necessity, ugly. Even more so than the movie. That said, they are also cute, though not in the huggable/loveable sense. The illustrations are colorful, fun, and expressive. A great book, even if (or especially since?) it isn't the movie.

Loggie-log-log-log

No, this is not a book based off the blockbuster movie. In fact, this little story is where the idea for SHREK the movie came from. The story and illustrations are classic William Stieg, mixing a childlike fascination with a bizarre almost cynical, humorous look at the world. In this case, Steig takes on the fairy tale.

Shrek is an ugly green ogre who can belch fire. However, one day his parents decide it's time to kick him out of the family hole in the swamp and see what mischief he can do in the world. He wanders through the woods and meets a witch who is repulsed by his stench and appearance, but agrees to tell him his future for one of his lice. She predicts that in a castle Shrek will find his true love, a princess, and live happily ever after. Along the way, Shrek runs into a talking donkey, a dragon, and an inept knight. He finally reaches the castle and meets a princess there who is more hideous than Shrek. They woo each other with monster poetry and are married at the end.

The story is funny, but children who have seen the movie too many times may not find the book as amusing as they would have before. The original Shrek is a totally different kind of ogre than the one in the movie. The original Shrek is borish, hideous, and somewhat offensive. Nevertheless, this is a story that somewhat older children do enjoy and if nothing else it's worth reading to see where the idea for SHREK the movie started.

"Otchky, potchky, itchky, pitch, pay attention to this" review. My 5-year old daughter, husband and I love to read this book aloud and agree that Shrek's princess is indeed uglier than he. Add this one to the list of William Steig must-haves.