The Three Billy Goats Gruff

by Janet Stevens (Adaptor, Illustrator )

Janet Stevens gives us a new look at the confrontation between three billy goats and an ugly troll. “The pictures are exceptionally well reproduced, and Stevens makes clever use of her layout, propelling the actions out of the borders at times, giving them verve and movement.”--Booklist

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Folklore, Fiction

32 pages

First published March 27, 1995

About the author

Janet Stevens began drawing as a child. Pictures decorated her walls, mirrors, furniture and school work -- including math assignments. While this didn't always sit well with her teachers, it was what she loved to do.

Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.

After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.

Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,

Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.

She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.

Reviews

[Ahmed Ejaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the classic version of this story which was just fine. I wish I could have the picture book. :(

2.5 stars

[Khai · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite from my childhood. I can almost hear the voices my dad would create for the characters when he read it aloud to me.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always liked this story. Cute illustrations and one made me laugh so thus the four stars. And the hidden pictures within the pictures is a plus.

[Meghan Wilke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Three Billy Goat Gruff retold and illustrated by Janet Stevens is a children’s folklore book this book is for kids between the ages of five to ten years old. The three Billy goats where hungry and they have eaten all the grass. So, they remembered that there is fresh grass over the bridge where the mean ugly troll lived. They tricked the old mean troll into not eating them and letting them cross the bridge. I would give this book three stars is because the book has good lesson to learn. The lesson is difficult to understand. The lesson of the book is to outwit the troll and get across the bridge the troll is greedy and didn’t eat the little Billy goat because he thought he would get more if eaten the medium and then he didn’t eat him because he was greedy and the troll thought he would get more eating the big one but the big goat tricked him. I think the author did a great job illustrating the pictures it gives a good representation of what is going on in the book the pictures are very well drawn that even if you can’t read you would be able to tell what is going on. The three Billy Goats Gruff is a very appealing book for kids to read it is funny and makes kids use their imagination.

[Mary Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Three Billy Goat Gruff retold by Janet Stevens falls under the genre folklore. This book won no awards as of yet. The age group that this book is made for is 2-5 and 4-8 years old. This book is about three Billy Goats that get into a conflict with a troll. I rated this book 5 stars. The reason for this because illustrations help tell the story and they are very detailed and colorful. This keeps readers reading. I feel as though this book does appeal to younger readers because it teaches them lessons and it is and interesting book, so it grabs their attention. Lastly, in the place where I am working, we used this book in one of our lessons with the Pre-K students, but I don't remember what the lesson it was.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This folk tale was re-told by Janet Stevens in 1987. It contains the classic “trip-trap, trip-trap,” ugly troll, and three very different goats. I’ve looked through more currently written versions, and very few contain the classic memories from my childhood. In my opinion, this particular book needs a new edition update, to reach out and be shared with our current generation of readers and young children.

[Marissa Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in class for the first time- never read this as a child but I like it. It shows children to stand up to bully's. The pictures are clear and use good personification. I would read this to children because some may think it's scary for children- we talk about the pictures and describe what the illustrations mean so that they don't fear such a good book.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the updated illustrations, but I'm not sure this classic tale has stood the test of time, or perhaps I'm just too sensitive in my old age! I found myself feeling sorry for the troll, ha, and wishing for a happy ending where he and the billy goats could live in harmony, each enjoying the sweet, sweet grass without fear of being eaten. But, as a vegan, that's just my personal bias!

[Holli Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite stories. I remember my mom reading this to me over and over. Very good story for onomatopoeia. It would be easy to get the children involved with hand or feet activities.

[Leandra Cano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been retold a million times, and every time it is great. The message of bullying is driven home loud and clear. I particularly like the pictures in this version. They are drawn old school style with up to date colors.

[Natasha Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a good story, but I think the pictures are a little graphic and may scare little children. Some may like it, some may not. The book shows courage and how to stand up for yourself and be brave.

[Jessica Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The pictures are great! I do believe it may be a little scary for some children.

[Evita LaQua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book but I think some words need to be changed. This book needed to ease up on the fighting . The original book is better to use if anyone wants to read to young kids.

[Antwon · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a classic, however at the end it portrays some violence, so i would pick a better way to end the book.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice retelling if the story. My kindergarten students were pretty into it and were able to remember details easily.

[Mama’s Hysa Book Club · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I loved this book... except that when the biggest Billy Goat Gruff goes up against the troll he is all dressed up like some kind of popular kid dude, if you know what I mean.

[DeNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was traditional, but the illustrations were such fun and elevated the story to a solid 4.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun adaptation of the story...great illustrations.

[Liilaa]

good art

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did a folktales/fairytales unit with my students in summer school. The new second graders really enjoyed this one. I was surprised they had never heard a version of it before.

[createitlibrarian (Amanda) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the third billy goat comes along with his sun glasses and leather coat! ROFL!

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent retelling of the classic story!

[Jen Goeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the Three Billy-Goats Gruff is about three goats that are brothers who found great grass to eat over the river, but to get to it they have to cross the bridge. The little goat goes over the bridge first and wakes up a troll who says that he is going to eat him. The little goat said that my middle brother will be coming along next and he is bigger so he would be better to eat. The middle goat says the same when he across because his older brother would be coming.

The book is a hard cover and square shaped. There are a lot of white pages in the story. The pictures are not that great too look at because they are not big and do not have much detail to them. For a classroom activity with this story you could listen to it on the computer, which is a fun different way for the students to listen to the story then having the teacher read it all the time. After listening to the story you could have the students act the story out in a play form. You could help the students make props for them to act out the story. Kids love to act out things and make things to help them.

[Crystal Lough · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a story of folklore. It is written towards children of primary age. It is a retold story of a billy goats family who were hungry and trying to make it to the other side of the bridge to eat the sweet grass that was there. The only problem was they had to cross a bridge where an ugly mean old troll lived underneath. The smallest goat and the middle goat went across and told the troll to wait for the biggest troll to eat. Once the biggest goat came across he told him he'd poke him and kick him and throw him off the bride. And so he did. I rated this book with four stars because it was overall a nice book. In my opinion I felt the ending could have been better. I think I remember reading a different version of this book as a child that was better. The pictures however were uniquely drawn without much detail and the story is still a classic so I still feel like children would find the book appealing. I could use this story in the classroom while discussing folklore.

[Souaad Asar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Billy Goats Gruff by Janet Stevens. The book has the story about three goats and an ugly troll. They want to cross the bridge because they couldn't find any grass they liked. As each of the goats walked through the bridge, the troll thought it would be good to eat them. But the troll didn't want the youngest, middle, and oldest goat walked across the bridge without the troll eating them. They put their heads together to hatch a plan. They outsmart the ugly troll who lives under the bridge and finally enjoy a picnic of fresh green grass on the other side of the bridge. The oldest goat asked if he would be a good friend then dinner. The troll agreed with the goats and they became very good friends who shared the forest. I loved this story but the pictures are a little frightening. All the rocks had faces on them and the troll looked really scary. I highly recommend this book for all readers.

[Rafiq · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about three goats who want to cross a bridge to eat the lush grass on the other side of the bridge. However, under the bridge lives a very scary an angry troll who will eat anyone that disturbs him. This book is available in a giant format version. The pictures are great and beautifully illustrated and reflect humorous images of the troll and the goats.

I think this book would be great for the foundation stage as well as KS1.
This book allows you to introduce written language to the whole class quite effectively.this book would would be great for shared reading because the format ensures that all children can see the book and print conventions. The large print allows you to encourage the children to focus on particular aspects of the texts. The mini version of this book can be used by the children to revisit this wonderful story. This story can be used with puppets to retell the story or sequence of events. A great way to capture the children's imagination.

[Sabrina Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This traditional story has been around for ages! I just love it. The story is about three goats who are hungry and trying to get grass but have to settle some confrontations with an ugly that lives under the bridge. This version of it is pretty much the same but the illustrations in this book are incredible plus huge. Children will enjoy viewing the pictures as well as listening to the story.
The repetition in the book can be used to help children develop and use their comprehension and prediction skills. The variety of words presented can be used to increase children's vocabulary.

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and engaging artwork, and good character in the writing style. It had a feeling of being spunky and new. The one thing that got me a bit was the fact that this version didn't incorporate the idea of "the grass being greener on the other side," which has always been the main lesson in The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Instead the author just said they'd eaten up all their grass and were hungry, which I think loses that depth that the story has always had. But other than that I was happy with this book.

[Shannon Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Janet Stevens retells the traditional story in a very realistic twist where the billy goats are all brothers trying to get to the lush meadow across the bridge. Scored at a 3.9 reading level, Janet Stevens uses an interesting idea twist of the plot and creative use on sentence fluency to retell the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff in her own unique way. This text could easily be used to write a comparison paper between multiple versions of this traditional tale.

[MargaretAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have sworn that Alana would have taken more interest in this book but she was pretty "meh" about it despite the ghastly troll and really awesome illustrations of the goats trying to get across the bridge.

However, she did surprise me when her grandpa made a reference to the book when he was visiting and she ran off to grab it and show him. I guess you never know what book or story is going to sink in. . . and even if they don't show immediate interest the story may linger with them later. Preschoolers!