Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age [Hardcover]

Raymond Briggs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2002 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Raymond Briggs’s funniest creation–the Boy Wonder of the Stone Age.
This funny, sad, yet wonderfully life-affirming story is about a misunderstood boy genius who refuses to accept the limitations of the world in which he lives. Young Ug is upwardly mobile, always on the brink of finding a better way, a nicer way of getting through life. He discovers that the fire that comes out of the sky can make dead animal bits taste terrific, but his mother thinks this is a disgusting idea and, she adds, “Terrific? What sort of word is that? Don’t you bring language like that into this cave!” He invents the wheel but doesn’t know quite what to do with it. What he really wants is a pair of soft, warm trousers. But how many millions of years must he wait for them? Ug’s story is told in more than 100 colorful frames with speech balloons much like a graphic novel but for a younger audience. Witty footnotes explain some of the many hilarious anachronisms.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ug is a dreamer. Foremost amongst his dreams? Soft trousers. When he balks at the stone pants his father carves for him ("I can hardly move"), his father replies, "Listen to me, Ug. Nowadays everything is made of stone. This is why nowadays is called The Stone Age." Briggs (The Snowman), with his trademark comic strip-like panels, follows Ug from boyhood to manhood on his quest for a more enlightened life, mining this rich vein of cheeky humor brilliantly. Ug's mother, the slyly named Dugs, believes that her son is headed for ruin ("He'll end up painting animals on the walls"), and the exchanges between the two frequently sound like a Monty Python routine (when Ug asks what's for dinner, for instance, Dugs replies, "Same as always bits of dead animals." "I wish there was something else, something nice," the boy says, to which his mother replies, "Nice! You're always going on about Nice!," and on from there). Ug's dissatisfaction leads to his invention of the wheel (he doesn't know what to do with it), his discovery of fire (his parents squelch the idea) and, as a grown man, he does indeed paint animals on cave walls. Briggs's pleasingly round characters and the muted palette of his softly shaded pencil and watercolor illustrations provide plenty of eye appeal, while a running tongue-in-cheek list of "anachronisms" (e.g., "Minute: [anachronism] No one knew about minutes in the Stone Age. Nevertheless, they were there all the time") adds to the hilarity. Ages 8-up.-- No one knew about minutes in the Stone Age. Nevertheless, they were there all the time") adds to the hilarity. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-In this original, witty, and poignant book, Briggs explores a Stone Age boy's search for a pair of soft, warm trousers and a better way of life. Ug constantly asks "why" and "why not," and approaches all sorts of problems without quite solving them. He invents the wheel but doesn't know what to do with it; realizes fire can warm his cave but doesn't manage to bring it inside; and fashions a boat out of stone, which of course doesn't float. While his father listens patiently to his son's ideas and haplessly tries to make them a reality, his mother, wearing only a stone skirt, is shrill, sarcastic, and antagonistic, casting the voice of doom and doubt. The sophisticated story suggests that asking questions and striving for a better world is crucial to the progress of humankind. In style and content, Ug, drawn in comic-book frames, falls somewhere between a picture book and graphic novel. It is a deceptively simple and wise look at some potentially weighty issues, done with a deft, sure, and amusingly light touch.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375816119
• ISBN-13: 978-0375816116
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Prehistory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars reluctant cave man, January 16, 2004

By 

C. McLean "bayles48" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age (Hardcover)

Poor Ug. He knows there's a better world but his mum fights him on it and his dad isn't much help. Illustrations are wonderful and sense of humor is black. I think a clever child would enjoy this book but not the average kid. A child and parent would greatly enjoy reading this book together, I think. Educational without being pedantic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ug was a forward thinker, February 27, 2010

By 

Nigel J. A. Harrison - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age (Hardcover)

This really not a children's book, even if it looks like one. It is playful and humorous and very intelligent without being pedantic or intellectual.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first rolling stone subscriber, November 22, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age (Hardcover)

I've just come to the painful and shocking discovery that I've never given Raymond Briggs much respect. To my credit, I never had any real reason to until now. The only Raymond Briggs creation with which I was familiar was his seemingly ubiquitous picture book entitled, "The Snowman". I'm sure you've seen it. Published the same year as my birth that doggone story always depressed me as a little kid. I never really saw the point of it all. Boy makes snowman. Snowman befriends boy. Snowman dies a horrible melty death at the end. Ugh. But hold that thought! "Ug" was just the storybook to rescue me from my unhealthy anti-Briggs mentality. With the discovery of "Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age", I've come to the slow realization that perhaps Mr. Briggs does not begin and end with "The Snowman". In this odd little book that seemingly draws on everything from Winsor McCay to the far more contemporary Chris Ware (there's more than a drop of "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Boy On Earth" here) we meet a kid who yearns for nothing more than a comfy pair of trou.

Ug lives with his ma and pa (Dugs and Dug, respectively) in the Stone Age. Ug is a bit saddened by the fact that his pants are completely made out of stone. He keeps believing that there must be something better out there. Pants that are softer than sandstone. Food that doesn't have to be eaten raw. Homes that are not caves. The more Ug dreams, the more his mother attempts to squash his resolve. And when, at long last, he and his father seem to be on the right path, a lack of certain tools bars their final triumph.

The book is written more like a graphic novel than a picture book. Here we have voice bubbles and the occasional footnote. I've probably never seen a picture book that used the word, "anachronism" more often than this puppy. The book is undoubtedly odd, there's no question. Briggs has an odd off-kilter sense of humor that serves him quite nobly in this endeavor. It's certainly a book for older children, though. And it occurs to me that books such as this are just begging for squeamish adults to get angry about. The mom walks about without a shirt (it's really not that noticeable, but some people might object). The fam eats raw meat with bloody regularity. And then there's the rather depressing final picture in the tale. Kids yearning for a vindicated Ug to prove to the world that he's right will take no comfort in the image of our now adult hero cave painting above the graves of his parents. But then, Briggs has always sorta been a fan of the letdown ending. "The Snowman" should've tipped me off that this book would end similarly. Only in this case, it doesn't mean you dislike the rest of the tale. It's just ... odd.

I doubt you've really seen a picture book like this before. It's incredibly wordy and more than a twinge depressing. Yet Ug's a likable enough fellow and spending a whole book with him is a pleasure. I wouldn't go handing this tale to anyone who you fear is stodgy or uptight. And kids will certainly dig the format, even if they don't understand all the words and references. Possibly the most amusing caveman picture book available to consumers in this day and age.