Publisher’s Description of The Ogress and the Orphans

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighborliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are.

Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor’s suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The Orphans know this can’t be: the Ogress, along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen.

But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?

Rebecca’s Thoughts on The Ogress and the Orphans

This is the feel-good book that we need right now,  when there is so much not right with the world. It’s got the kind Ogress you want to hug and the greedy dragon it’s so easy to hate, especially when he plays tricks on people for his own benefit. And then there are the clever orphans to cheer on as they try to unravel why so many bad things are happening. 

Even the townsfolk are all three-dimensional characters. They reminded me of my own neighbors as I read. And if you’re really the bookish type, you’ll enjoy the orphans’ mysterious library with more books than the room has space for (which equips them with the knowledge they’ll need to fight the good fight), and the cats (that see everything the people miss). Thank you, Kelly Barnhill, for writing this lovely, heartwarming book and reminding us how to make our own little corner of the world a better place.

This is a great read for lovers of fantasy, lovely writing, good triumphing over evil, so . . . pretty much everyone. 

The Ogress and the Orphans will be released on March 8th, 2022. You can check it out on Goodreads or buy it from Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, or the Online Store that Must Not Be Named.

Thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for providing an arc of The Ogress and the Orphans. It was provided in exchange for an honest review.

If The Ogress and the Orphans sounds good, here are a couple more recent recommendations to check out:

The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis
Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca
Cole Champion Is Not Super by Rebecca J. Allen