The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Kid Lit Book Club: Have you discovered any great children's poetry lately? I've posted my selections! Come join the discussion.

It's Wednesday! Do you know what time it is? That's right! Time for more

Fractured Fairy Tales! 

This week's feature is The Three Billy Goats Gruff. You know the classic tale: Three goats try to cross the bridge. A troll threatens to eat each one, but let's the two smaller ones pass to save room for the biggest brother. But the troll is no match for the biggest billy goat, who promptly butts him off the bridge. Here are four terrific takes on this story.

The Three Cabritos (Eric A. Kimmel; Stephen Gilpin) - In the Author's Note, Kimmel describes his retelling as "a Texas twist." Instead of a troll, he uses Chupacabra, which is "a legendary creature who attacks farm animals at night." So his retelling involves a fiesta...at night...and the cabritos (young goats) have to cross the bridge over the Rio Grande. This unique tale involves a musical twist that defeats the fearsome Chupacabra. A Spanish glossary is at the end.

The Three Silly Girls Grubb (John and Ann Hassett) - The "troll" in this story is a bully who always skips school. Three girls are the "kids".  Will Ugly-Boy Bobby eat their lunches as they try to get to school? Read this very silly version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff to find out!

The Three Billy Goats Fluff (Rachael Mortimer; Liz Pichon) - After falling for a bad real estate deal, the Troll is grumpy in his new abode under the bridge because it is far too noisy to sleep with all the trip-trapping going on over his head. Luckily, Mother Goat, who has her own knitting business, figures out how to befriend their new neighbor and keep her kids safe (pun intended :).

The Three Silly Billies (Margie Palatini; Barry Moser) - Click the title for a previous post on this very PUNNY book :)