The Ogress and the Orphans

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. How many orphans reside at Orphan House?

2. What was the initial event that began the negative changes in Stone-in-the-Glen?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How is caring presented as both a problem and a solution as the orphans and Ogress are introduced?

Paired Resource

“Before I Was a Writer” and “Listening to Stories”

• In these clips (1-minute; 3-minute), author Kelly Barnhill chats with Reading Rockets about the experiences—namely, her many careers and her love of stories—that have shaped her as an author and as a person.
• In her appreciation of stories, Barnhill has come to realize that Facts Matter in helping us build our understanding of the world.
• Which of Barnhill’s past jobs or experiences do you think might’ve influenced her most when writing The Ogress and the Orphans?

CHAPTERS 6-9

Reading Check

1. Who is the eldest of the orphans at Orphan House?

2. What is the name of the Matron’s husband, who helps run the Orphan House?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does the Mayor build a box around the stone in the middle of the glen?

CHAPTERS 10-15

Reading Check

1. Who burned down the Library?

2. As the Library was burning, who moved the books to the Orphan House?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the important lesson that the dragon learns after spending some time in an antelope’s skin?

Paired Resource

“Kelly Barnhill–Influences”

• In this 1-minute video clip, Kelly Barnhill tells the Association for Library Services to Children about one of her favorite books as a child, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.
• The Rats of Nimh features a colony of escaped lab rats and shares the theme Judgment Does Not Give Us Information.
• Does Barnhill’s description of The Rats of Nimh make you want to read it? How do we see the influence of this book in her work, particularly in The Ogress and the Orphans?

CHAPTERS 16-19

Reading Check

1. What is the only item on Anthea’s to-do list that hasn’t been done?

2. Instead of a lawn, what decorates the Mayor’s front lawn?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What causes the fight that results in Anthea’s injury at the market?

CHAPTERS 20-24

Reading Check

1. What alerts Anthea that something is wrong with Cass?

2. After running away, Cass gets lost in the woods. What animal comforts her when she lays down to rest?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What causes the mean-spirited dragon to be banished by the council of dragons?

Paired Resource

“‘What Is an Allegory?’: A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers”

• This video by the Oregon State University’s School of Writing defines and explains the concept of allegory in literature.
• In what ways might The Ogress and the Orphans be considered an allegory? What are the primary “vehicles” for the “tenors” in the novel?

CHAPTERS 25-30

Reading Check

1. Who sees the Ogress holding Cass, and falsely assumes that she is stealing children?

2. In Bartleby’s dream, to whom does he read a philosophy book?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do Myron and the Matron believe happened to Cass? How does this differ from what Anthea believes?

CHAPTERS 31-36

Reading Check

1. Why is the Mayor agitated after the conversation with the cobbler?

2. What causes the Ogress to cry regarding the card from the orphans, as delivered by Harold?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What about Cass’s homecoming causes Anthea to have a bit of hope for the first time in a while?

CHAPTERS 37-42

Reading Check

1. When the townspeople confront the Ogress about how “dangerous” she is, what action does the Ogress take in response?

2. What possession belonging to the Ogress inspires Cass’s idea on how she might fix Stone-in-the-Glen’s troubles?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What incident at the Ogress’s barn causes the butcher to feel ashamed?

CHAPTERS 43-49

Reading Check

1. What major revelation does the stone show to the orphans?

2. Where in Stone-in-the-Glen do the children from Orphan House introduce the rest of the town to the Ogress?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. The Ogress and the orphans give books as gifts to both the townspeople and the Mayor. How do the townspeople’s books differ from the Mayor’s book?

Paired Resource

“Dragon Tales From the Authors of ‘The Girl Who Drank the Moon’ and ‘A Wish in the Dark’”

• This New York Times dual review of The Ogress and the Orphans alongside The Last Mapmaker asks the question: Why are we so obsessed with dragons? (Subscription may be needed to view.)
• The figure of the Mayor/the Dragon are closely tied to the themes of Facts Matter and that Kindness Is a Choice.
• What do you think it is about dragons that people find so intriguing? How does the dragon in The Ogress and the Orphans compare to other dragons you have come across in literature?

CHAPTERS 50-54

Reading Check

1. Why is the Mayor’s dragon magic weak?

2. What do the crows shower upon the townspeople at their picnic with the Ogress?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How is the Mayor revealed to be a dragon to the townspeople? What is his ultimate fate?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

• The winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal and a New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a children’s fantasy about Xan, a witch who finds herself responsible for raising Luna, a girl with magical powers bestowed upon her by the moon.
• Shared themes include Judgment Does Not Give Us Information.
• Like The Ogress and the Orphans, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is the story of a town that uses magical allegory to espouse values of kindness, loyalty, and heart.
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon on SuperSummary

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

• The Graveyard Book tells the story of Nobody Owens, a boy who is raised by ghosts after his family was suddenly killed, leaving him completely alone.
• Shared themes include Kindness is a Choice.
• Shared topics include the healing power of kindness.
• The Graveyard Book on SuperSummary