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Awful Ogre
Awful Ogre Running Wild
A picnic with a lovely ogress, followed by bug hunts and crocodile wrestling . . .
A visit to Grandma, who serves her famous moldy bread and dried weasel . . .
A dip in the neighborhood pool with his precious pet piranha . . .
And . . . ogre yoga?
Awful Ogre is back, and awfully excited to share his action-packed summer with you!
The mischievous Jack Prelutsky and Paul O. Zelinsky transport readers once again to a world that is irresistibly gross and awesomely awful, starring the endearing, unforgettable Awful Ogre!
A visit to Grandma, who serves her famous moldy bread and dried weasel . . .
A dip in the neighborhood pool with his precious pet piranha . . .
And . . . ogre yoga?
Awful Ogre is back, and awfully excited to share his action-packed summer with you!
The mischievous Jack Prelutsky and Paul O. Zelinsky transport readers once again to a world that is irresistibly gross and awesomely awful, starring the endearing, unforgettable Awful Ogre!
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Jack Prelutsky
121 books242 followersJack Prelutsky is an American poet. He attended New York public schools, and later the High School of Music and Art and Hunter College. Prelutsky, who has also worked as a busboy, furniture mover, folk singer, and cab driver, claims that he hated poetry in grade school because of the way it was taught. He is the author of more than 30 poetry collections including Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep< and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. He has also compiled countless children's anthologies comprised of poems of others'. Jack Prelutsky was married to Von Tre Venefue, a woman he had met in France. They divorced in 1995, but Jack remarried. He currently lives in Washington state with his wife, Carolyn. He befriended a gay poet named Espiritu Salamanca in 1997 and both now work together in writing poems and stories for children and adults alike.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 5, 2016
What better way to read poetry than with Awful Ogre Running Wild by Jack Prelutsky! This is a fun book about an Ogre and his adventures throughout his summer shared in short, fun poems that I believe your students will love! This genre would be greatly used in your poetry lessons and based off of some of the harder vocabulary I would say this was for grades 3-5. Some of the poems in this book include the Awful Ogre running wild, talking about toast, a picnic, attending a concert and many more adventures and thoughts about himself.
This would be a great book for one because it's not a "typical" poetry book and I think it would keep your student's attention. One thing that would be a great thing for teachers to do would to go through the book and pick out all the vocabulary words that he/she might think are unknown to the students and do a pre-reading vocabulary lesson. This would be a great activity as well to help with dictionary skills and learning how to find words in text that you might be able to read but not understand and to show them how to break down the words and find their meaning. Another activity that might be fun for the students to do would be for them to come up with their own poem about an Ogre (which in this book I really don't think he's all that awful!).
To me this is a WOW book based off of how in tune the poems were with the pictures, but there was some detail left out of the pictures for you as the reader to come up with your own ideas of how things were. I have to say I haven't read many books of poems and its not my favorite genre, but I would gladly pick this book to read with my students to give them a sense of poetry and show them how sometimes poetry can be fun, sad, happy, or serious
This would be a great book for one because it's not a "typical" poetry book and I think it would keep your student's attention. One thing that would be a great thing for teachers to do would to go through the book and pick out all the vocabulary words that he/she might think are unknown to the students and do a pre-reading vocabulary lesson. This would be a great activity as well to help with dictionary skills and learning how to find words in text that you might be able to read but not understand and to show them how to break down the words and find their meaning. Another activity that might be fun for the students to do would be for them to come up with their own poem about an Ogre (which in this book I really don't think he's all that awful!).
To me this is a WOW book based off of how in tune the poems were with the pictures, but there was some detail left out of the pictures for you as the reader to come up with your own ideas of how things were. I have to say I haven't read many books of poems and its not my favorite genre, but I would gladly pick this book to read with my students to give them a sense of poetry and show them how sometimes poetry can be fun, sad, happy, or serious
May 12, 2018
4.5
Upgraded because this does not deserve a 3.5 average. This is a very good, very “boy friendly” book of poetry. It goes right in a collection with the dinosaur poetry and automobile books that I read with my boys over the past year or two. My younger son found it particularly entertaining to find the little “Easter eggs” included in the illustrations!
Strongly recommended for fantasy fans and boys
Upgraded because this does not deserve a 3.5 average. This is a very good, very “boy friendly” book of poetry. It goes right in a collection with the dinosaur poetry and automobile books that I read with my boys over the past year or two. My younger son found it particularly entertaining to find the little “Easter eggs” included in the illustrations!
Strongly recommended for fantasy fans and boys
March 30, 2019
The characters and illustrations within this book really help to bring the story to life! It is a fun-read, and I believe students would have fun comparing all the things the Awful Ogre does in his daily life, to things they do as well.
Trait: Illustrations & Fluency
DRA = N/A
Lexile = N/A
Trait: Illustrations & Fluency
DRA = N/A
Lexile = N/A
May 4, 2019
Great book that has a unique type of destructive poetry. This ogre likes to crash into and destroy things all while having great time and expressing itself through poetry.
Trait: Voice
Guided Reading: N/A
DRA: N/A
Trait: Voice
Guided Reading: N/A
DRA: N/A
March 30, 2021
The first title, Awful Ogre's Awful Day about ogres by these two is the more entertaining.
August 27, 2019
Silly poems kids will love. Funny pictures to boot.
January 17, 2025
This will be my funeral dirge
March 29, 2019
I loved this book, it is a great way to introduce a reader to poetry with comedy and poetic Rhythms. The reason I gave this book 5 stars is because Not only did I enjoy the word choice but the illustrations that go with the story.
Guided reading: N/A
DRA Level: N/A
Traits: sentence fluency, voice
Guided reading: N/A
DRA Level: N/A
Traits: sentence fluency, voice
April 27, 2011
Awful Ogre Running Wild is a fun poetry book for older elementary students. Each poem showcases a different aspect of the life of Jack Prelutsky's Awful Ogre. Children may be familiar with Awful Ogre from his first book, Awful Ogre's Awful Day.
I think some kids would LOVE these poems and others might not get the humor. This isn't for very young students since the vocabulary is actually quite advanced. Older elementary students may enjoy many of the fun "ogre" details - such as when he uses a monocular for dragon-watching, or when he has trouble sleeping so he eats a midnight snack to help him "close his eye," or when he sneezes a single sneeze and causes a panic among goblins, elves, trolls, buzzards, and gnomes.
Paul O. Zelinsky seems to have had particular fun with illustrating ogre-themed food, which some kids may find quite unappealing. I know I did! During the Ogre Cook-off, Prelutsky describes "smelly stews, abominable casseroles, and moldy cheese fondues." Yet the illustrations show some sort of animal head covered in underwear, a tiny chef on a platter with an apple in his mouth, some sort of bird skeleten, and other very inventive types of "sludge and slime." But what can you expect when you're reading a book about the life of an ogre? :)
I think some kids would LOVE these poems and others might not get the humor. This isn't for very young students since the vocabulary is actually quite advanced. Older elementary students may enjoy many of the fun "ogre" details - such as when he uses a monocular for dragon-watching, or when he has trouble sleeping so he eats a midnight snack to help him "close his eye," or when he sneezes a single sneeze and causes a panic among goblins, elves, trolls, buzzards, and gnomes.
Paul O. Zelinsky seems to have had particular fun with illustrating ogre-themed food, which some kids may find quite unappealing. I know I did! During the Ogre Cook-off, Prelutsky describes "smelly stews, abominable casseroles, and moldy cheese fondues." Yet the illustrations show some sort of animal head covered in underwear, a tiny chef on a platter with an apple in his mouth, some sort of bird skeleten, and other very inventive types of "sludge and slime." But what can you expect when you're reading a book about the life of an ogre? :)
February 29, 2016
The poem that I picked out of this book was called"Awful Ogre Reflects On The Summer." This short poem tells of how the ogre is having an awful summer and everything that was going wrong. Then he goes to sleep.
This poem contains a is full of rhymes and word play. There is one large image that shows the ogre but it does not have much to do with the text. There is no real need to have the picture there other than to draw in the readers. There was a lot of repetition throughout the poem as well. The reader can feel the frustration that the ogre is feeling in this poem as well as in the other ones in this book.
This poem contains a is full of rhymes and word play. There is one large image that shows the ogre but it does not have much to do with the text. There is no real need to have the picture there other than to draw in the readers. There was a lot of repetition throughout the poem as well. The reader can feel the frustration that the ogre is feeling in this poem as well as in the other ones in this book.
Read
May 8, 2009Another great book about the awful Ogre and what he does in his free time. Such as exercise, visit Gramma Ogre, participate in a cook off and go for a swim. In his tradition disgusting ways Ogre shares his fun. Another winner by one of the great poetry writers for children. When I shared it with a class of 2nd graders all my other Ogre books went flying off the shelves. gr. K-6.
June 18, 2011
I liked this book of poems because it uses fun words to describe the Ogre's activities. The illustrations are vivid and colorful and detail what the poem is saying. I think children would enjoy the book because it uses rhyming words. The poems are silly and would appeal to children because of the silliness.
October 23, 2013
Genre: Poetry
Copyright: 2008
I think that the book was a little long for a read aloud in my classroom, but it is good for a one on one where someone can really examine the illustrations. There is a lot of detail on each page and fun to look at the pictures. I loved how the ogres do so many of the things humans do, just much grosser...
Copyright: 2008
I think that the book was a little long for a read aloud in my classroom, but it is good for a one on one where someone can really examine the illustrations. There is a lot of detail on each page and fun to look at the pictures. I loved how the ogres do so many of the things humans do, just much grosser...
April 24, 2015
I give this book 4 stars not so much that I loved it, but I thought it was an over all well written well illustrated book!!! Great for the individuals poems! Great as a whole. But I don't think the Ogre is awful! I think he is awesome. He may not be wonderful for our human standards but he his a pretty groovy ogre!
December 28, 2008
This is cute, if you are into ogres :). I actually liked it, despite the fact that the subject matter is, frankly, gross. The actual poetry is very good, and IMO it's a great way to expose typical 5 year old boys to poetry!
Want to Read
July 21, 2011Maria Sigg recommended this book, and it looks like it was one of her poetry reads. I don't think I introduce my children to enough poetry, and it looks and sounds as though I would have a more fun time reading this one. I mean, who DOESN'T like reading about ogres?!
August 21, 2011
Gross, slightly violent, and great for elementary kids. The vocabulary is a bit more advanced and the illustrations are extremely detailed. I did enjoy reading it aloud, because the poems flow and the content is not your normal poetic subjects.
April 6, 2012
I am doing an author study slash poetry cafe and station exploration with the kids at my school for National Poetry month. This is one of the books I am using for this activity. I enjoy Jack Prelutsky's poems because they are easy to read and understand and also fun!
May 6, 2015
I think that this book was a fun way to teach kids about poetry, but that is where it was limited with me. I will say that the illustrations in this book were amazing. That will be the draw in for the kids.
March 15, 2016
In this poem, the ogre is having an awful summer and thinks that everything is awful. In the end everything is gone and the ogre goes to sleep.
This poem contains a play on words, imagery (that does not interact with the picture), symbolism, repetition of the word awful, and it rhymes.
This poem contains a play on words, imagery (that does not interact with the picture), symbolism, repetition of the word awful, and it rhymes.
August 6, 2008
Fun poems about the things an Ogre does during the summer. Fun gross stuff kids will love
June 26, 2010
Lot of great vocabulary and kids will love learning new words through the rhymes.
November 15, 2011
Excellent 'big kid' poetry. Definitely well-suited to my 8 and 9 year old. I loved the ogre bake off and liked many of the other poems, as well. We'll check out the other ogre book soon!
May 12, 2014
It isn't often that all of my Boys enjoy poetry but Awful Ogre kept their full attention with his mildly "disgusting" rhymes. Humorously illustrated, too!
October 13, 2015
Meeeehhhh...
January 16, 2016
Humorous poetry and fantastic illustrations should up the appeal of this poetic journal.
November 2, 2017
Funny little poems about the Awful Ogre and his adventures during the summer.
February 25, 2013
I love his work ! His sense of humor is great :)
April 5, 2017
Lots of fun. Ogres be cray. Kate laughed a lot at this one, partly because of the pictures.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews