The Ogress and the Orphans Quotes and Review written by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: The Ogress and the Orphans
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Length: 400 pages
Age suggested: 10+
Release Date: March 8th, 2022
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy
Themes: Friendship, Compassion, Kindness
Warnings: None
Quick Summary of The Ogress and the Orphans
Stone-in-the-Glen was once a lovely town. But it is now rundown and the people who live there have lost the ability to be kind to each other. Only the orphans and the ogress, who lives at the edge of town, seemed to have retained this ability. As things go from bad to worse can the orphans and the ogress find a way to save the town?
Why Read The Ogress and the Orphans
Our story begins with the history of the town of Stone-in-the-Glen. We hear its history. Once lovely, a series of disasters has helped to make the town lose all kindness. The people still believe that their mayor will restore the town. But the ogress who lives at the edge of the town is very kind, and, unknown to others, is bringing food of various types to the people. The orphanage is one of those places.
The orphans are some of the only kind people left. Like the others, they are grateful for the food but do not know who brings it. When one of the orphans temporarily disappears, the people are roused by the mayor and a few others to suspect the ogress. Can the orphans convince the town of what really happened, or will hate and fear triumph over kindness?
Kindness, love, not giving into fear, bravery, understanding others. All of these and more are wrapped up in a fairy tale format that children of all ages will enjoy. Community, what is a neighbor, there are an incredible number of lessons packed into this book. There is some suspense, memorable characters, and an unusual narrator. A well written story with a lot of depth.
Favorite The Ogress and the Orphans Quotes
“It is a terrible practice to prejudge anyone, be they ogres or orphans or dragons or nosy neighbors or assistant principals or people with unusual manners. It is important, always, to treat everyone with compassion and respect. This is well known.”
“I would like nothing more than to tell you that every person—human, dragon, or any other kind of creature—is fundamentally good. But I can’t tell you that, because it is not in my nature to lie. Everyone starts fundamentally good, in my experience, and nearly everyone stays mostly good for the most part. But some . . . well. They choose to do bad things. No one knows why. And then a small number of those choose to stay bad. I wish it weren’t true. But it’s best you know.”
“After all, the more you give, the more you have. It is the only true thing I know.”
“Books are funny things. The ideas and knowledge contained inside their pages have mass and velocity and gravity. They bend both space and time. They have minds of their own. There is a power in a book that surpasses even that of a dragon.”
“We can choose to be filled with suspicions, or we can choose to accept grace, and then continue to extend kindness to others. Which do you choose?”
“Goodness and Wickedness have no meaning if they are not defined by choices or actions.”
“Finally, Anthea said, ‘What is the use of truth when people refuse to believe verifiable facts?’”
“The antidote to anger is tenderness, and the antidote to discord is reconciliation.”
“With good, the more you give, the more you have. It is the best sort of magic.”
The Ogress and the Orphans Quotes
The Ogress and the Orphans Discussion
1. The orphans all have very distinct personalities. Which one do you admire the most, and why?
2. Were you surprised to find out who the narrator was when you reached the end of the story? Why might this be surprising?
3. Why do you think some people choose to be bad?
4. In this book, there are several types of magic. Books have a magic all their own, and there is magic in giving. What do you think this means?
5. In the book, the orphans discover that just one person doing good can start a cascade of good. What do you think the world (or your school) would look like if people started doing more good?
Thanks for reading The Ogress and the Orphans Quotes and review. Check out some other posts:
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