THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF

Galdone's troll is every bit as gruesome as any we've seen, but without any of the awesomeness that Marcia Brown or the D'Aulaires suggest. Like Brown he heightens the tension of the billy goat-troll confrontation by showing both in staring close-ups, and — so like himself — he animates every scene with energy and vibrant motion. This is bound to rivet attention at any story hour, and it ends reassuringly with the goats getting fat in peaceful spring-green fields of daisies. But even the goats (until that idyllic conclusion) have a wildly insistent look about them, and those who find Brown's troll too scary will be grossed out by this one's large blue nose (especially when seen from below), yellow teeth, bulging eyes, and hair of floating rainbow colored scribbles.