Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like the movie but WONDERFUL!
Review: This was a family favorite for years before the film came out. Nothing against the film, which is a hoot, but the Shrek of William Steig's book is FAR lustier in his awfulness than the movie Shrek. He absolutely REVELS in his disgusting characteristics, and ends up meeting a princess who is the ugliest, most smelly, most horrific thing he's ever seen in his life. Naturally, he falls madly in love! They quote monster poetry to each other:Sadi Shrek, "Your horny warts, your rosy wens, like slimy bogs and fusty fens, thrill me." Said the princess, "Your lumpy nose, your pointy head, your wicked eyes, so livid red, just kill me." Was ever a romance so beautifully begun?!?? This is wonderful, wonderful stuff. Steig absolutely revels in making these two creatures as awful as possible, and young readers (and not so young!) will enjoy the fun that Steig clearly had writing and illustrating this classic book.
Rating:
Summary: Horribly Likeable
Review: We knew Shrek long before there was a movie. William Steig has once again created an unforgettable character. Kids will love how Shrek revels in his own hideousness! Steig challenges the reader with a high level vocabulary such as fusty fens, varlets and peasants scything blithely, and churlish knaves falling into stagnant moats. Anyone who just saw Shrek and is looking for some sort of movie novelization should go elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, we all loved the movie, but it is only VERY loosely based on this book. The donkey is more given to chomping grass than making wisecracks, for instance. I would recommend this book to parents of little boys and encourage you to check out other works by this author.
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