Yay! Friends, I finally read my first Eva Ibbotson and I feel I can finally join the club as I’m no longer the only person who hasn’t read Ibbotson. I felt pretty much the same way after I read my first Diana Wynne Jones book. Y’all ogres are awesome. I learned this after watching Shrek and was reinforced by The Ogre of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson.
The Ogre Of Oglefort
The Ogre of Oglefort has powers. He can turn a person into an animal. When Princess Mirella is kidnapped by the ogre, it is up to Ivo, an orphan turned Hag’s familiar, a troll, hag, and wizard to save Mirella. When they arrive at Oglefort, they discover things are not exactly what they seem.
Y’all The Ogre Of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson is an utterly charming read. I loved how enthusiastic Ivo the orphan was about being a familiar even though he’s a human and not an animal. I know I would probably dislike being a hag’s go-fer, but Ivo handles it with aplomb. Additionally, I loved how Mirella did not want to be a girly girl and really stuck to her guns. I think the cast of characters were a treat as each one defied my expectations and turned out to be different from how I anticipated tehm to me.
Also! There are drawings inside The Ogre Of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson which although are not completely necessary, they totally enhanced my reading experience, because I love illustrations. Also I think the illustrations may also appeal to reluctant readers.
The Ogre Of Oglefort is fast paced. I think it immediately hooks the reader, which we definitely need when books compete with all other forms of entertainment. It is heavy on plot — how does the gang defeat the ogre and save Mirella? I’d also say that The Ogre Of Oglefort is not overly complicated, yet it has a great message – don’t judge others based on appearance. I’m very glad that Eva Ibbotson had a huge backlist- you can bet that I will be reading through her books.
Disclosure: Borrowed from my local library.
This is a CYBILS book.
Other Reviews of The Ogre Of Oglefort:
Cavalier House Books
Charlotte’s Library
Girl Knows Books
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April (Books&Wine) – who has written 1074 posts on Good Books And Good Wine.
April is 24 years old. She is an educator. In her free time she can be found reading, working out, or eating junk food. She often wears her sunglasses at night.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This sounds like a fun read!
It definitely is
I’ve only read Ibbotson’s YA books (A Countess Below Stairs, Magic Flutes, The Morning Gift, The Dragonfly Pool) but I will need to try her MG fiction sometime. This sounds like a fun adventure story whereas her YA fiction is more like Barbara Cartland for teens.
I’ve never read Barbara Cartland, unfortunately! But her YA does sound good and I own a copy of almost all her books.
Her MG is super fun!
Awww, this sounds like it should be on the shelves next to Kate DiCamillo’s books – that kind of charming! I don’t normally go for MG, but I do for ones like this.
I’ve never read Eva either but it sounds like I should. Even though I teach 8th grade, I can tell my kids about it and, of course, recommend it to other teachers. Sounds adorable!
I read my first Eva book recently too. The one I read was Which Witch. It was adorable as well. You should check that one out when you get the chance.