The Three Billy Goats Gruff

by Mara Alperin, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Kate Pankhurst (Illustrator)

When three billy goat brothers reach the bridge to the meadow, a slobbering troll blocks their path. The brothers are no fools - but how do you trick a troll?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fairy Tales

32 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2014

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, the motivation for seeking out a newer, greener pasture is always a bit fraught. In this, they're in the snowy mountains all winter, getting sick of thorny thistles. So in the spring, they head down to the lush valley.. that's BACKWARDS. In the winter, they'd be down in the valley, and when the spring melt comes, they'd be able to climb to higher altitudes for fresh, ungrazed grass. I mean - if you have to invent a backstory, and least make it somewhat plausible... :p

[Lizzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Massive mistake on the first page.
You spend summer up the mountains, when it gets cold, THEN you come down to the valley below. Why on earth would you spend an icy winter HIGHER UP?
I have now got rid of this book. Also, i missed the 'trip-trap-trip-trap over the rickety bridge' but that was a minor issue.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly well received read-aloud by the Year 0-2 cohort. Even though many of the students knew the fairytale, they were very engaged, enjoying the humour and delighting in the troll getting his come-uppance.

[Karley Kirkendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy
Feature: Calls for different voices - could do a mini readers theater with 5 students.
Grade: Kindergarten

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like these editions of books. They are colourful and the text is varied aesthetically.

[Adrianne Rosal · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have started our Fairytales genre today so in class we had this one as a read aloud.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic fairty tale with nice illistrations

[Lauryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book for 5-7 year old. This boo uses humor to engage the reader and keep reader's wanting to read on. This book uses great English writing techniques such as onomatopoeia and alteration.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary
The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a cute story involving a family of goats and a grumpy old troll. There are three goats that are siblings and they want to go to the meadow to eat the grass there. However, their journey involves crossing a bridge where a mean troll claimed as his own territory. He likes to eat anyone that tries to cross his bridge. These goats are clever and brave, but will this help them to cross the bridge and get to the meadow without being eaten? Read to find out what happens to the three goats and the troll.

Activity
Have the students brainstorm different ways the goats could get to the meadow without being eaten by the troll. They can get in small groups and come up with alternatives to getting past the troll. This activity will help them learn about teamwork and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Also, ask the kids what they learned and how this story can relate to helping others.

Citation
Alperin, M. (2014). The three billy goats gruff. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

[Hannah Cussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional Literature
Kindergarten-1st grade
The illustrations in this book were great! I liked how they were colorful and fun. I also enjoyed how some pages showed a few different scenes. This would be a good book to talk about sequencing in reading. The text had some words in a bigger font or capitalized to show that they needed emphasis.