Little Troll. (Tadpoles). Penny Dolan. Illustrated by Lisa Smith. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2008. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3887-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3856-5 (RLB). Subject Headings: Readers (Primary). Readers (Bullying). Readers-Trolls. Kindergarten-grade 2 /Ages 5-7. Review by Min So. ***½ /4

excerpt:

They stamped across that bridge by day -

and by night. Poor Little Troll!

Little Troll is a refreshing retelling of the classic, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Instead of a mean old troll who loves to eat goats, there is Little Troll who is happy, loves to play with his friends and swim in the river. In place of three innocent billy goats, readers are introduced to three mischievous bully goats who guiltlessly make noise to torment the troll’s life. Something happens to the three goats, and Little Troll decides to take action that will change all of their lives forever.

     The story is short, and its high frequency words and phrases with simple sentence structures make it a great book for someone who is starting to read. Even if he/she cannot read it by him/herself, it is a wonderful read-aloud story for the adult to share with the child as it is a fun and funny story greatly complemented by the whimsically drawn and attractive illustrations.

Highly Recommended.

Min So is an on-call children's librarian in British Columbia.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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