The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Finch, Mary. The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Illus. Roberta Arenson. New York: Barefoot Books, 2001.

There is nothing fractured or post-modern about this re-telling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and that is part of what I love about this book. The narrative voice is straight-forward but strong, with just enough venacular ("And he picked up his hooves and kicked the troll into the middle of next week!") to invoke a sense of story-telling. The loose, bright, expressive collage illustrations are reminiscent of Eric Carle, with slightly more detail and texture added to the coloured paper (with pastel, paint and crayon) before it is cut up. A simple but pleasing and completely charming book. Also available in Spanish.