""I love goat! Let me count the ways.
A rump of goat in honey glaze.
Goat smoked, goat poached, a goat pot roast.
Goat smorgasbord! Goat smeared on toast!
A goat kale salad - hold the kale.
Goat escargot! (That's goat plus snails.)
On goat I'll dine, on goat I'll sup.
You little goat, I'll eat you up!""
Reading this new book, by two of my forever favorite artists, has me hooting with delight!
It has arrived just in time to share with my granddaughters who are making a return visit this week for a family wedding. We will read it time and again. They love fractured fairy tales as I do. I have such admiration for writers who can take an old familiar tale and make it new again.
Jon Klassen creates a troll not imagined in previous tellings. His round beak and oddly-shaped head make the first look compelling, not to mention his bone-littered surroundings, white bib and sharp fangs clutching cutlery needed for tasty meals. Oh, this story is bound to be lively and eventful!
The troll waits in anticipation of his next meal; the last one was 'some goop he'd found in his belly button'. Can you hear the 'ewwws'? He is in dire need of real food. When the tiny goat takes its first step onto the bridge, the troll is quick to threaten it with making it his next meal. As tiny goats with big brothers are inclined to do, the little one offers up his bigger brother as a more practical alternative.
The troll is extremely pleased with his ability to trick the little naive one into sharing such a remarkable secret. Along comes the second goat. The threat is familiar, and the result is expected. There's another brother on his way. Unbeknownst to the troll, there is a BIG surprise in store.
"Oh ..." said the troll. "Um ...
I, uh ...
I ...
Wow. You're really big."
Thus, ends any future threats to the Billy Goats Gruff who live to eat as much as they need on the grassy ridge they favor.
The troll? You will need to read this funny, marvelous story to discover his fate for yourself.
The finale is the stuff of a reckoning for past actions. It's just perfect!
“Who seeks to reach the grassy ridge?
Who dares to walk across my bridge?”
It's been said this is the first in a planned series of retellings. I will await the next with eager anticipation.
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