Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill
A story about making assumptions and being fearful of the unknown, Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill by Maureen Fergus and Danesh Mohiuddin is a story that is sure to delight your readers.
When a ogre moves into the house on the hill, Princess Pru is annoyed by his behaviour while the rest of the kingdom, included her dads, the kings, are fearful. Princess Pru isn’t a fan of his behaviour but is able to be compassionate and understand that maybe all the annoying behavours are a cry for help. When the ogre starts doing unusual things and sends around an invitation to the whole kingdom, it’s Princess Pru who is unafraid to venture to the ogre’s house and while there she makes a brand new friend.
Maureen Fergus infuses humour and lightness into all her amazing stories and Princess Pru is no different. With a small bit of a Shrek vibe, readers will find the idea of a princess and an ogre friendship to be very silly indeed. Plus with a pet ostrich and three royal tarantulas readers will understand that Princess Pru is not your typical princess.
This book is so refreshing! Maureen Fergus has taken all of the tropes and stereotypes about princess stories and turned them on their head. Readers will appreciate the fact that Princess Pru has her own mind and is not afraid to follow her own path. Having two dads shows readers that families come in many different forms and that all families, no matter how they look, are special.
Danesh Mohiuddin’s illustrations ensure that the humour from the text is carried right through the story. There is a lot of detail on each page which makes the story fun to access multiple times. His illustrations have a distinct Saturday morning comics vibe, which as a child of the 90s, I certainly relate to and appreciate the nostalgia.
Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill has been the subject of shadow banning by at least one school board that we are aware of which makes it even more important that we share this book far and wide. All children have the right to read and the right to read any book of their choosing. They have the right to access to all stories and adults shouldn’t be getting in the way, hiding behind value statements. Part of the Blue Spruce list of nominated titles, all children should have the opportunity to read this story and make an informed choice when it comes time to vote for their favourite title.
