Storyteller and first-time author Salley uses a narrative style that evokes the bayou setting for this piquant retelling. Three brother goats "wanted to go up to the hills and hollows of West Feliciana Parish to make themselves fat, that they did." But the troll awaits. In Salley's empowering version, the biggest goat takes matters into his own hooves: " 'I have two spears, and I'll poke your eyeballs out of your ears...' That's what the billy goat Gruff said, and that's what he did!" Dixon's (Cajun Night After Christmas) eclectic illustrative style gives the tale a fresh, sometimes frightful look. Thick, heavy brushstrokes in the background evoke an abstract feel, while sparingly added cut-paper collage (for teeth, horns and insects) lends subtle definition to each Mardi Gras–bright spread. The yellow, purple and green goats, sporting, respectively, a Boy Scout cap, fishing hat and festive orange fedora, saunter through pages splattered with white paint. At times, competing elements make it hard to distinguish the characters from their swampy surroundings (and to discern the relatively small type). The red-eyed, orange-clawed troll with flaming hair looms large, though, as does his titular refrain. His untamed appearance and the graphic portrayal of his encounter with the first goat (shown with a wild stare and yellow teeth, he's poised to decapitate the smallest traveler) may scare the very young. But the eldest's triumph will put them at ease. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)
