Mac Barnett Books

This twisted retelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett is humorous and engaging in equal measure.

The tone is set for this twisted fairy tale within the first few pages with disgusting troll details, which children will love, like scraping earwax and goop from his belly button. The story keeps to the traditional aspects of the tale, at the same time as modernising it too. There is repetition of key phrases, but with a focus on different ways of eating the goat, including curried or poached goat. The biggest twist of the story comes at the time the third goat is introduced, and this is where discussion can be explored with children around the alternative ending.

The illustrations by Jon Klassen are a darker take than many of this tale, but would give lots of opportunity for discussion, especially around the appearance of the troll. I believe children will enjoy this version, as although it does keep the same structure of the more traditional versions, the language used and the illustrations make this a very different version of this classic tale.