The Three Billy Goats Gruff [Hardcover]

Mary Finch (Author, Narrator), Roberta Arenson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2001 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Retells the traditional tale about three billy goats who trick a troll that lives under the bridge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Finch (The Little Red Hen and the Ear of Wheat) and Arenson (One, Two, Skip a Few!) play up this familiar tale's lean but highly satisfying narrative trajectory. With the immediacy and economy of a skilled storyteller, Finch includes just enough sound effects and role-playing opportunities to bring the action to life without weighing down its progress. The troll, for instance, croons a catchy ditty: "I'm a troll, from a deep dark hole,/ My belly's getting thinner,/ I need to eat and goat's a treat / So I'll have you for my dinner." Arenson embellishes her vibrant full-spread collages with stenciling and flourishes, but there's an admirable sense of restraint at work here, in perfect harmony with Finch's voice. With their blocky bodies, bright, mischievous eyes and stylish coats of yellow, pink or aqua, the goats make for a trio of spunky heroes. Their nemesis is impressively grimy, thanks to Arenson's use of fibery brown papers, but he also sports fetching purple toenails. The artist crops her collages to underscore the drama: one scene is composed like an overhead shot, looking down on the littlest goat crossing the bridge as the troll menaces him from underneath. These appealing billy goats put up with no guff. Ages 6-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reS-As in earlier versions of the familiar story, the goats trick the troll that intends to eat them, but this retelling offers a less-menacing variation. The troll sings his threats to the animals rather than shouting at them, and does not end up as "bits, body, and bones." This kinder, gentler tone is enhanced by Arenson's bright multimedia illustrations. Composed of watercolor, oil pastel, crayon, and stencil work, these collages lend a cheerful tone to the book. The colorful goats, one lemon yellow, another shocking pink, and the third a watery blue, are whimsical, and even the troll is not very threatening. This book may be useful in introducing the goats to a younger, more impressionable audience that may not be ready for the more aggressive traditional tale.

Shara Alpern, The Free Library of Philadelphia

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Barefoot Books (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841483494
• ISBN-13: 978-1841483498
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,240,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Stephen Carpenter version is outstanding for little ones, March 29, 2000

By 

M. Henry "Grandma-ellen" (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Hardcover)

Many of the reviews listed here are for other versions of this story. I have checked out all seven versions of Three Billy Goats Grufff available from our library just to see which was best for a three year old. This one by Stephen Carpenter has large, clever, uncluttered pictures and tells the story in simple language. The troll is not too scary and, all in all, this one seems just right for little ones. Another version, the elaborately illustrated one by Janet Stevens, uses a colorful, imaginative vocabulary and would have more appeal to adults and older children (5 or 6 and up?).

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Which 3BBG version? This one--without question, hands down, May 23, 2005

By 

Jill Barrett (Independence, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Hardcover)

Here's the one, parents and grandparents. Stephen Carpenter's son Tad had loved this story so much that Carpenter decided to write his own version--and am I glad he did! This is one of my four-year-old's daily requests, and my 13-year-old will still scoop it up for a chuckle from time to time. What makes this particular edition so great?

1. Big, fun illustrations. The goats are different sizes/colors. The troll is green, knobby, and hairy.

2. A troll who is just scary enough for a little menace (the littlest goat gruff appears once in his shadow) but is still kind of cute, and very comical when he takes that famous drink.

3. The cadence and style of the writing is just perfect for doing different voices for the troll and three goats, just like my mom used to do. The first time she tried it with this book, she remarked, "This is a really good version."

4. The encounter between the biggest billy goat and the troll is simply thrilling--this is one tough, unintimidated billy goat!

4. The last page is fantastic. The goats are grazing in a veritable Eden with smiles of satisfaction, and the troll is hilariously peeking out of the water down next to the bridge.

5. The old-fashioned ending--"snip snap snout, this tale's told out."

This family of seven could not love this book any more. I would not change a single line of the illustrations or a single syllable of the text. A beaut.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The scary version, October 19, 2008

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

"The Three Billy Goats Gruff 1957" by P.C. Asbjornsen and J.E. Moe (the Grimm Brothers of Norway) and illustrated by Marcia Brown is what I call the scary version of this Norwegian folk tale. My library (I am a school librarian) has three other versions, all pretty and not scary at all. What good is a fairy tale if it doesn't make the little ones hug their neighbors in delicious fright.

Least you think I am a troll myself, I would like to remind you of that word the French gave us--frisson--that delicious scary feeling when we're safe. Thus, when I show the various book covers of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and ask which version they want me to read: the nice one, the pretty one, or the scary one, the children all hug each other and say without doubt--"the SCARY one!!"

I might add that it is Marcia Brown's illustrations (yes, THAT Marcia Brown) that make this version the scary one. She smears on color, uses lots of black and reddish-browns, uses bold gashes of colors. Just the coloring technique lends itself toward that frisson. The introduction of the troll is a mudpit of fierce, scary browns and blacks with a hint of red in those browns--a pit of anger and hatred. The troll's huge eyes, long nose, and jagged, broken teeth add to the frisson.

Listen to the word pattern: "On the way up was a bridge over a river they had to cross, and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll with eyes as big as saucers and a nose as long as a poker."

When the troll comes out, the viewer sees him in his full scariness because he is right there "in our face," large as life. Then he says that scary line: "Who's that tripping over my bridge?" You know, any reader worth her salt is going to read it in a fierce voice, and adds: "Now, I'm coming to gobble you up!"

Truly, this is some scary artwork, almost beyond frisson. "'It's I! the BIG BILLY GOAT GRUFF!' said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own." And you should see THIS scary drawing of the BIG goat! When the third Billy Goat Gruff does battle with the bad ol' troll, body parts fly. Really! In a children's book! That's why some people disapprove of this version.

It's a matter of taste. I always let students who seem fearful to go into the other room until I finish reading this version--the scary one! Afterword, everyone wants to check out this book. Oh, the other childen? If any went into the other room, they always return to hear the story.

Books are magic.