Shrek!

Author: William Steig

Rating: 2/5

Shrek is an ogre who goes out into the world for adventure!

Spoilers ahead.

Detailed Summary

Shrek is super ugly and can breathe fire and swallow lightning. He is kicked out of the swamp by his parents. He runs into a witch who tells him he’ll meet a donkey who’ll take him to a castle, he’ll battle a knight and marry a princess uglier than him. So, that happens exactly. At the castle, Shrek finds himself in a room of mirrors. He meets the princess. They fall in love.

Review

I had no idea the Shrek film series was based on a picture book! I will say I do prefer the movie but that’s probably because I’m several years older than the target audience of the book. I didn’t really glean anything from this book other than it’s okay to be ugly! To be honest, I was disappointed by the anti-climactic ending. I was hoping for more adventure rather than the book literally just being what the witch prophesied. Sure, he encounters a dragon and falls asleep and dreams about children (which he considers a nightmare) but that wasn’t really much.