Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age

by Raymond Briggs

Book Overview

Raymond Briggs's funniest creationthe Boy Wonder of the Stone Age. This funny, sad, yet wonderfully life-affirming story is about a misunderstood boy genius who refuses to accept the limitations of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375816119
• ISBN13: 9780375816116
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.0" x 12.2"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Ug was a forward thinker

This really not a children's book, even if it looks like one. It is playful and humorous and very intelligent without being pedantic or intellectual.

Read it first in German

Am buying it in English for the sake of my almost 4 year old grandchildren. It is a wonderful "Why" book and a better "Why Not?" book equipped with the most restrictive of adult perspectives. The Stone Age tale is interspersed with modern references which are numbered. At the bottom of the page the references are identified as "anachronisms". I am hoping they use the same word in the English original. I find myself wishing that the same device was used with movies like Lion King. Our little boy twin is very interested in death. It would be helpful for him to know that having the father lion speak after death to his son was artistic license and does not really occur - at least not exactly like that. The book is droll. Sleeping under a stone blanket may deserve the warning: "This is pretend, don't let a heavy slab of rock fall on you just because you're tired!"

Hilarious and Thought Provoking

This is a fun look at a boy's struggle with his surroundings. Ug is constantly wanting more out of his life-softer trousers, a warm place to live, etc. Ug's insatiable curiousity drives his parents crazy, but his dad tries to encourage Ug. The book is funny and wistful at the same time. The ending is thought-provoking and a bit melancholy-what has Ug achieved in the end?

reluctant cave man

Poor Ug. He knows there's a better world but his mum fights him on it and his dad isn't much help. Illustrations are wonderful and sense of humor is black. I think a clever child would enjoy this book but not the average kid. A child and parent would greatly enjoy reading this book together, I think. Educational without being pedantic.

How can a boy genius survive among the primitives?

Ug just wants a better way to live his life, but the prehistoric boy genius can't figure out how. He invents the wheel but finds no purpose in it, he discovers fire can cook food - which other cave folk find a disgusting concept - and he longs for warm clothing. How can a boy genius survive among the primitives? A fun cartoon style lends to this zany tale and will invite even reluctant readers to learn.