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Title | The Ogress and the Orphans | |
Author | Kelly Barnhill | |
# of Pages | 390 | |
Best for Ages | 8-12 | |
# of Clovers | | |
# of Times Read |  | |
Setting:
This book takes place in Stone-in-the-Glen, a small town for of hatred and mistrust. The main characters of this book are the Ogress and the orphan. The Ogress is a kind, friendly ogre, while the orphans are all young children, both boys and girls, ranging from the ages of babies to tweens. This book takes place in medieval times, and is told in first person. The genre of this book is fantasy.
Plot:
Stone-in-the-Glen used to be a lovely town. There was a library, courtyards, and trees to protect the inhabitants from the sun. However, since the library burned down, everyone distrusts everyone. There is no more loving, and people don't go outside. However, there is one good thing about Stone-in-the-Glen, the Ogress. Every week, helped by her crow friends, the Ogress goes into the town at night. She delivers baked goods to all the inhabitants of Stone-in-the-Glen, even the Orphan House. This is a part of the Ogress plan to be a good neighbor to the inhabitants of Stone-in-the-Glen. The orphans in the House struggle with having enough food, so the food from the Ogress is a miracle. However, no one in Stone-in-the-Glen knows who brings them food every week. So life continues on and on. One day, when food supplies in the Orphan House is especially low, an orphan named Cass runs away. Cass gets lost in the woods, and falls asleep. The Ogress, who had been alerted by her crows, rescues Cass and takes care of her for a little while. Meanwhile, the orphans, and their caretakers, Matron and Myron, are frantic to find Cass. Matron asks the townspeople to help find Cass, and one townsperson helps them even more. The baker's wife steps in and forces the townspeople to help the Orphan House. However, not soon after, Cass shows back up, and tells everyone about how the Ogress and the crows had saved her. When the mayor of the town hears about this, he tells everyone that the Ogress KIDNAPPED Cass, and whips the town into a frenzy. Anthea, another orphan, tries to tell the mayor that the Ogress is good, but he will not listen. For some reason, the inhabitants of Stone-in-the-Glen are mesmerized by the mayor, and seem to forget what they are trying to say to him. Knowing some bad is coming, the orphans write the Ogress a letter, warning her. However, as the Ogress can't read, she misinterprets it as an act of love. Later, the inhabitants of Stone-in-the-Glen rush to the Ogress's house and destroy parts of it. Saddened by this act of hatred, the Ogress retreats into her house and stops delivering gifts. The orphans make the connection between the Ogress and the gifts, and sneak out at night to go comfort her. The orphans come up with a plan to restore love and caring into Stone-in-the-Glen, through books. However, with some many of hate behind them, can the inhabitants of Stone-in-the-Glen change for the better? And what is up with that mayor?
Recommendation:
This is a really good book. It had me staying up late, trying to figure out what was going on. It had a great slew of characters, from the Ogress to the mayor. There was nothing violent or anything like that, and there was nothing inappropriate. It had a heartwarming ending, and a surprise narrator. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I think you will too.