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The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Book Synopsis

A brilliant retelling of the well-loved classic The Three Billy Goats Gruff – with a hilarious twist!

I am a troll. I live to eat. I love the sound of hooves and feet and paws and claws on cobblestones. For that’s the sound of meat and bones!

What lives under the bridge? A terrifying troll who is always hungry!

And this troll loves to gobble up anyone who dares to cross the bridge, but his favourite of all is billy goat: goat rump in a honey glaze, curried goat and goat smeared on toast – you name it, this troll LOVES it!

So, when the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip clop clip clop across the bridge, the troll is already imagining all the scrumptious ways to fill his belly.

But what if the troll is about to underestimate those seemingly sweet goats… And bite off more than he can chew!

A story told with pitch perfect timing, pacing and hilarious detail with Barnett’s signature narrator voice, this is Billy Goats Gruff as never before!

Award-winning illustrator, Jon Klassen, brings the story to life with his stunning visuals

The first in an incredible new collection of fractured fairy tales crafted by one of today’s most celebrated and acclaimed author-illustrator duos.

Our Review Panel says...

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

The tone is set within the first few pages with disgusting troll details which children will love, like scraping ear wax 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.