The Three Billy Goats Gruff

 
　　三隻山羊想要到對面的山上草原吃美味的青草，但想到另一頭去他們必須得過橋，而橋下住了一隻非常飢餓的可怕山怪。喀啦、喀啦，山怪聽到過橋的聲音，興奮的出來查看，他一看到山羊，腦中已開始浮現各種吃法，燻羊肉、蜜汁山羊腿、山羊佐法式田螺、山羊肉乾……山羊大餐要來囉！
 
　　小山羊邊發抖，邊說：「拜託你，別吃我，我身上真沒有多少肉可以吃。如果你讓我過去，我就告訴你一個秘密！我哥等下就來了，他不只肉比我多，吃起來也更好吃。」
 
　　山怪好得意，居然從小山羊口中騙到一個大秘密，他滿心期待等著第二隻山羊到來，喀啦、喀啦，山怪又聽到過橋的聲音……
 
　　源自挪威童話《三隻山羊嘎啦嘎啦》，由兩位在童書界享有盛名的創作者麥克．巴奈特（Mac Barnett）和雍．卡拉森（Jon Klassen）聯手挑戰創作新版本。麥克．巴奈特表示：「我特別留心要以繪本的方式來重新說這個故事，童話源自於口耳相傳，原本並非設計來以繪本的形式呈現，我覺得要善用繪本說故事的形式，比如透過繪本充滿張力的圖文關係，來創作這個新的版本。」
 
　　訪談中，兩人也提到他們覺得這本書特別適合做成繪本，特別是故事裡大中小三隻山羊的體型差異。大部分的插圖版本，通常以一頁處理三隻山羊登場的劇情，而麥克．巴奈特和雍．卡拉森覺得這樣非常可惜。從第一隻山羊登場，讀者對故事的走向就會有某種猜想，他們選擇以多張跨頁，讓劇情在翻頁之間慢慢展開，回應讀者的心理期待，並讓懸疑感步步堆疊，在故事的結尾再來個超乎預期的驚喜，進而放大謎題揭曉後的視覺幽默和趣味感。
 
　　此系列以童話為主題，預計發展為三部曲，The Three Billy Goats Gruff為備受矚目的系列第一本作品。

Instant New York Times bestseller!

The MOMENTOUS debut of a groundbreaking Fairy Tale series -- a brilliantly crafted, hilarious twist on this beloved classic, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, from renowned, award-winning, and New York Times bestselling duo and picture book pioneers Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen!

Once there was a bridge and a terrible and VERY hungry troll lived underneath it. When the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip-clop across the bridge to get to the grassy ridge, the troll is already imagining all the way to prepare a delicious goat dinner. But the troll underestimates those seemingly sweet but oh-so-savvy goats! This is the first in a groundbreaking new collection of fractured fairy tales crafted by one of today’s most celebrated and acclaimed authors, Mac Barnett, and brought to stunning visual life by award-winning and beloved creator of I Want My Hat Back, Jon Klassen.

Told with pitch perfect timing and pacing, hilarious detail, and Barnett’s signature narrator voice, this is Billy Goats Gruff as never before. High-stakes page turns will have readers on the edge of their seats and giggling along, as they join each goat and anticipate the arrival of the hungry and terrible troll living under the bridge. With Klassen’s brilliantly restrained scenes, arresting characters, and celebrated artistic style, this first of three fairy tales is destined to be a true publishing event!

With a multitude of Caldecott Medals, Honors, international awards, and New York Times bestsellers to their names both independently and in collaboration, this is a creative pairing that is electric. So get ready to experience picture book magic... all you have to do is cross the bridge!

Mac Barnett is the New York Times bestselling author of many picture books, including The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, the New York Times bestselling The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, the Caldecott Honor Book and E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winner Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and the Caldecott Honor Book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award-winner Extra Yarn. He is also the coauthor of the bestselling Terrible Two series with Jory John. Mac lives in Oakland, California.
Jon Klassen is an animator and Governor General’s Award-winning creator of children’s books. His book This is Not My Hat won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenway Medal, making Jon the first person to win both awards for the same work. Jon was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently resides in Los Angeles.