Independent Reading Level: Grades 2-5
Awards: Nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award

I really enjoyed this book for three reasons. First, I loved the illustrations. They are full of different colors and details. The way the ogre is portrayed helps the reader visualize what is going on in each poem. Each picture really shows exactly what is going on in the poem. I also really like the plot of the story. The book starts out when the ogre is beginning his day. Each poem goes through a different event in the ogre's life. I also really like the way that the book is set up. While each page is a new poem, they still flow together to help the reader get a good picture of who the ogre is. I think it is funny how the things he loves would be terrible for a normal person, and the things he hates would be great for a normal person. The main idea of this book is that one man's trash can be another man's treasure. ( )

Super creative & grossly funny. Not as easy to read aloud as his other work...lots of bigger words (good vocabulary building). ( )

Summary:
A collection of 17 poems about an Ogres awful day. Starts with his rising from bed, then grooming himself, next he has breakfast. Ogre creates awful music and even has a hot dog lunch. Awful Ogre goes to bed and has an awful dream. The book ends with Awful Ogre sleeping soundly in his bed.
Personal Reaction:
The poems in this book are so fun and I could just picture reading this book to kids. I had such a fun time reading it so I could just imagine how much kids would enjoy it.
Classroom Extension Activities:
1. Color paper ogres and talk about what makes an awful day
2. Begin talking about poetry and what makes up a poem ( )

I believe that boys of any age would love this book because it has some phrases that are kind of gross and very funny. I also think students in kindergarten or first grade would love to hear this story as a read aloud because of the pictures, humor, and rhyme scheme. This book could be used in kindergarten as a mentor text to teach about different types of texts, in particular poetry. This could also be used in second or third grade to discuss how the rhyme scheme contributes to the rhythm and meaning of the story. There are also a lot of in depth vocabulary words, some of which even I did not know the definition for, such as cudgel. You could use this book with third or fourth grade to teach using context clues in order to determine the meaning of words you do not know. ( )