The Three Bully Goats

by Leslie Kimmelman

This book is specially designed in Amazon's fixed-layout KF8 format with region magnification. Double-tap on an area of text to zoom and read. When Gruff, Ruff, and Tuff, bully their way across a bridge and into a meadow -- teasing a kind ogre and butting small animals along the way. The ogre, frustrated that being friendly and polite didn't work, hatches a plan to teach the "bully" goats a lesson. This twist on "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" is a great read-aloud (and discussion starter) will have kids laughing in the aisles.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fractured Fairy Tales, Fairy Tales, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it takes a powerful response to overcome a bully.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Message-heavy

[Stacie · Rating 1 out of 5]

3 asshole bullies get their well-deserved comeuppance. Of little redeeming value for a child’s story time.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nephew pulled this one off the shelf at the library today, and he seemed to think it was an acceptable book. I wasn't sure that he was really tuning in to the words of the story, but he was certainly absorbing the pictures. He wanted to check this one out, but I sat it down and forgot it. He was able to relay this story to his sister, however, and much to my surprise, he actually *had* been listening to the words!

It was a fine enough story. I think that there are better books about bullies out there, but this one wasn't *terrible.* I thought it was a little boring, but my nephew liked it well enough to tell the tale to his sister, so it must have some appeal.

[Natalie Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure I appreciate the message in this one - stand up to bullies by skunking them. Hmm.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leslie Kimmelman has turned a classic on its head with this retelling of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. LYouwill notice that the title is BULLY Goats with a u. The goats are bullies and the kind little troll who lives under the bridge, tries to be polite. When talk fails and the bullies continue to hurt the baby animals, the ogre still manages to find a nonviolent soution. Although this is a picture book, it is not appropriate for toddlers or sensitive children. The goats not only use threatening language but kick the young animals. However this book is great for schoolage children and can provide a platform to launch a discussion about handeling bullies.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

A variation of The Three Billy Goats Gruff that reverses the personalities of the goats and the troll from the traditional version. The goats are all bullies to the sweet little troll. I found this book to be unnecessarily violent with extremely rude characters who did not really learn their lesson.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kimmelman serves up a BULLY twist on this traditional tale. In this case the ogre is cute and kind and attempts negotiation but is unsuccessful. All ends well, but I won't reveal the surprise solution. Will Terry's illustrations are engagingly great!

[Madison Gullekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

# bully goats decide to cross a bridge to better grass and below the bridge is a friendly ogre that the goats bully. Eventually, the ogre outsmarts the goats and gets them to leave the baby animals alone.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little earnest, but still funny. And satisfying. May inspire readers to cleverly problem-solve against bullies assertively but not with actual violence. Almost worth rounding up to four stars, recommended to readers who are dealing with bullies but maybe not universally recommended.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gruff, Ruff & Tuff learn their lesson when they try to bully a bunch of baby skunks and the ogre's the nice guy

[Maggie Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this was the opposite take on a popular fable. It would also be good to use to teach the children about bullying.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable

Love it! A cute twist on an old tale, and a nice lesson combo about being smart and being kind.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable read, great illustrations. so fun. colorful. quick and sweet. must have for your book shelf.

[Koorihime-sama · Rating 5 out of 5]

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5

Ease of Reading Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5

Three goats, Gruff, Rugg, and Tuff, are nothing but bullies to everyone in the meadow. When they pass over the little ogre’s bridge, they ruin the peace on the other side of the meadow. However, the bullies will learn their lesson, when they pick on the wrong animal.

This book puts a very nice twist on the children’s classic, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. It still has the basic outline of the original, but the author changes the characters personality and even adds something to make it a little different from it. The author makes it so that the goats are the bad guys and the ogre is the good one. Even with some slight changes, it was still a nice and interesting take.

Also, I think the illustrations were more adorable than the original. :P They had a very soft and gentle feeling to them, and they were enjoyable to look at. It was also very easy to read/see the text.

Overall, the book is a very enjoyable read, so go ahead and read it to your children. :D

[RLL22016Catherine Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here bully goats gruff was such a great book! I loved the story. I picked this story because I read it to my class of 3-5 year olds and they were so I tuned with the story. The descriptive words that he author uses to describe the troll, and the vibrant colors in the book are what make this such a great read. The way the story is written allows for me the reader to give it such life because of the descriptions, and adjectives used. It had words that I could help explain to my students, and it caused them to pay more attention because of how greatly it was written. It had beautiful pictures, and and great ending with the troll being tricked and tossed into the water and never seen again. It was funny and interesting. I would love to read it to my own kids at home.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations in this, especially of the other animals and their expressions. And I really liked the twist of this story. I wasn't too keen on the writing. What was up with "Brazil" in the taunting chant? It didn't fit in at all! And I didn't like the use of "stinky heads," since it wasn't the animal's heads that were stinky. The story has promise, but if I were to tell it--either in a storytime or a lapread, I'd tell it in my own words.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads a lot like The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs in that the innocent goats are cast as the bad guys and the troll, or in this story ogre, is the victim. A funny take on a classic fairy tale. This would be a good read aloud for lower elementary school students.

[Callie Risse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book with second grade students to teach them how to compare and contrast 2 stories. My favorite thing about this book is the bright color on each page; it made all of the children want to read it.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. In the quest for stories to "start discussions" about bullying we were bound to get some less than fantastic ones.

Is it BAD? No. Is it GOOD? No. Not that, either. The kids may still like it. Haven't decided yet if I think that is OK or not. :/

[hhhhhhhhh · Rating 3 out of 5]

so the moral of the story is... stink bomb thy oppressor?

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute twist on the story we all know.

[Smbyrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of three "bully" goats. They learn a lesson from a sweet ogre and some baby skunks.