6 books like Shrek
- Shrek! by William Steig — Shrek began here, in thirty-two pages of gleeful ugliness.
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine — Shrek rewrites fairy tale logic by letting the princess be difficult and the hero be unpolished.
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman — Shrek mocks fairy tales while believing in them completely.
- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones — Shrek gives you a romance where both people are prickly and the transformation goes backward.
- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman — Shrek takes an apocalyptic premise and makes it funny by focusing on characters who like the world t…
- Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede — Shrek builds its comedy on a princess who does not want to be rescued and a hero who does not want t…
Picked for the feeling of Shrek, not its genre. Each one is explained below. One movie isn’t much to go on: rate four more and the books are picked for you.
Why these books
Shrek takes fairy tale tropes and makes them sweat. It gives you a romance built on mutual weirdness instead of rescue, a hero who solves problems by being himself rather than transforming, and a world where happily ever after means accepting the smell. These books do the same work: they love their genres enough to argue with them, they trade prettiness for honesty, and they understand that the best subversions come from characters who refuse to perform what the story expects.
Shrek!
Shrek began here, in thirty-two pages of gleeful ugliness. Steig's picture book sends a green, warty ogre out into the world to find someone who can stand him, and he meets a princess just as repulsive and delighted by it. The tone is arch and affectionate, the illustrations revel in grotesquery, and the happily ever after depends on two people who scare everyone else. It is shorter and meaner than the film, with no pop songs to soften it.
Ella Enchanted
Shrek rewrites fairy tale logic by letting the princess be difficult and the hero be unpolished. Levine does the same by cursing Ella with obedience and watching her fight it. The book is a Cinderella retelling where the heroine solves her own problems, the prince earns his role, and the magic is a burden rather than a gift. It has the same affection for the source material and the same refusal to let prettiness replace personality.
The Princess Bride
Shrek mocks fairy tales while believing in them completely. Goldman does the same, framing his swashbuckler as an abridgment of a nonexistent classic and interrupting the romance with footnotes about his fake editorial process. The tone is ironic but never cold, the characters are archetypes who earn emotional weight, and the happily ever after is hard-won. It is a love story that refuses to be earnest about its own sentimentality.
Howl's Moving Castle
Shrek gives you a romance where both people are prickly and the transformation goes backward. Jones does the same with Sophie, who gets cursed into old age and decides to stop being polite, and Howl, a vain wizard who throws tantrums and dyes his hair. The book is a fairy tale that rewards stubbornness over beauty, where the castle is filthy and the magic is domestic. It has the same pleasure in characters who refuse to be likable.
Good Omens
Shrek takes an apocalyptic premise and makes it funny by focusing on characters who like the world too much to let it end. Pratchett and Gaiman do the same with an angel and a demon who have been on Earth so long they prefer it to their respective sides. The book is a comedy about loyalty to small things, with footnotes that argue with the main text and a tone that loves humanity without pretending it is not ridiculous.
Dealing with Dragons
Shrek builds its comedy on a princess who does not want to be rescued and a hero who does not want to rescue her. Wrede does the same with Cimorene, who runs away to work for a dragon and spends the book annoyed by princes who show up uninvited. The tone is dry, the magic is practical, and the happily ever after depends on people choosing their own roles. It is a fairy tale where the subversion is the point but never the joke.
Is Shrek based on a book?
Shrek is based on William Steig’s novel Shrek! (a picture book for children).
What should I read if I loved Shrek?
Start with Shrek!, Ella Enchanted and The Princess Bride. 6 books on this page were picked for the feeling of Shrek, not its genre, with a reason for each.
Which book is most like Shrek?
Shrek! by William Steig. Shrek began here, in thirty-two pages of gleeful ugliness.
These are for everyone who loved Shrek. Want books picked for you?
Someone who loved Shrek and The Notebook reads different books from someone who loved Shrek and The Pianist. One movie isn’t much to go on. Rate four more — Shrek already counts — and the books are picked for you.
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