NEWLY RELEASED

Three hungry goats need to cross a bridge to get to a luscious field of green grass. But a greedy old troll stands in their way and threatens to devour anything that sets foot on its path. So how can the goats safely cross the bridge?

They must get clever, of course!

The Three Witty Goats Gruff preserves the fun and charm of the beloved original, Three Billy Goats Gruff, while adding a new spin to this cautionary tale. With plenty of repetition and exciting dialogue, young readers are sure to join in on the adventure. Perfect for shared reading at home or in the classroom.

Published by Words Publishing
Publication Date September 9, 2018
Available in all Major Retailers including:
Chapters-Indigo | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The original tale of Three Billy Goats Gruff came to us from Norway where it was first published by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Engebretsen Moe in the early 1840’s. Prior to television and radio, oral storytelling was the most effective way to entertain people. Asbjornsen and Moe’s collection of folk tales brought many of these stories into a written form still shared today.

Three Billy Goats Gruff is a tale about three famished billy goats (male goats) who desperately want to get to a fresh field of grass that grows
on the other side of a bridge. In most incarnations of the story, the three goats are brothers – youngest to eldest. In others, they are youngster, father and grandfather (Gruff is used as their family name).

As the story goes, under the bridge lives a greedy troll that threatens to eat anything that dares cross it. The first and second billy goats manage to outwit the troll and cross the bridge by convincing him to wait for their bigger brother, a classic eat-me-when-I’m-fatter folk tale plotline. The eldest goat eventually knocks the wicked troll off the bridge with his mighty horns. The troll gets carried away by the stream and alas, the goats live happily ever after.

Since its initial publication, there have been many different versions of this folk tale. When people retell a story, they sometimes make changes to bring it up to date or make it their own. In my adaptation I incorporated a female goat (nanny). Although female goats have been used in previous editions of this tale, they have seldom, if ever, been featured as the heroine in the story. As well, I proposed an alternative way for the goats to solve their dilemma – instead of using force to subdue their bully, they use their wit to outmaneuver the greedy old troll.

From an educational perspective, my book strives to enrich young readers in the area of literacy (vocabulary-building) and mathematics (concepts of patterning, number sense and measurement), as well as encourages discussions about various themes, including overcoming obstacles, problem-solving, teamwork, unity, courage, greed and bullying.

I hope you enjoy reading The Three Witty Goats Gruff as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Feel free to share your comments and thoughts below.