Shrek

Steig, W. (1990). Shrek. Illus. William Steig. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Brief Annotation: Shrek loves being ugly and disgusting. He is happy just causing terror and chaos wherever he goes. One day Shrek terrifies a witch, who then tells him of a prophecy that he will meet a donkey, a knight, and his one true love. Can an ugly, disgusting, monster really live happily ever after?

Genre: Fantasy, picturebook.

Grade Level: Kindergarten through grade 4.

Readers who will like this: Students who like quest tales, students who like adventure. Students who are just learning to read.

Response/Rating (1-4): ***. This was a very entertaining book, and very differnt from the movie. The story is light and easy to read, and would be great for beginning readers.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What does 'acceptance' mean? Why should we accept everyone, no matter what they look like?

Reading Strategies Connection: I think a great strategy to use would be Retelling Of A Picturebook (Yopp & Yopp p. 140). The students could record audio of themselves retelling the story. They can use different voices for each of the characters and even change aspects of the book they didn't like or felt could benefit from being different.