I first read to my boys the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff which is just the way I remember it from when I was a child. I then flipped the book over and read to them the troll's point of view. What a cute and funny story. We all love this book. We will definitely buy other books like this one written with other classic stories telling both points of view.

I first received a copy of this book at the International Reading Association's 1996 conference when I was acting as a staff development assistant and enrichment teacher at an elementary school. It is hilarious. First, you read the traditional The Three Billy Goats Gruff to the kids and then you read the Just a Friendly Old Troll story which is told from the point of view of the troll. It is really funny. The troll says he was just misunderstood-he didn't mean he was going to eat the baby goat when he said," I'd like to have you for dinner?" but that he was inviting him to dinner trying to make friends and that when baby goat and medium goat each said wait for my bigger brother knowing that eventually big billy goat gruff would come to defend them that he thought they meant they didn't want to come to dinner without their brother.

I am a school librarian and I thought these "other point of view" stories were wonderful (not just the 3 Billy Goats). It gives you a chance to alert kids to the fact that sometimes you need to hear another point of view before you make judgments. It's too bad the Horn book reviewer didn't like it.

My second grade students loved this book. Children get tired of hearing the same old boring stories told over and over again. So, when I said that I had found a different version of the story, they were all ears. They laughed, but i still think that they liked the original better....

This is a delightful book, great pictures and very entertaining. My son loves the real pictures in the book. Looking forward to getting more books in this series.

Dr. Alvin Granowsky has written a number of fairy tale-revisionist combination stories, and this pair is a fine example of what the genre has to offer. Both tales are illustrated with line drawings and each is well told, combining the best principles of language building, such as a better-than-average vocabulary and a mix of sentence lengths, without sacrificing an evocative and plausible narrative flow. The revisionist story is told by the stepmother, who contends that Snow White has resented her since her arriva; Snow White has convinced other people that her stepmother is trying to kill her.

These books are a wonderful mechanism for children who are just beginning to understand that other minds have other thoughts. The stories are well-told -- entertaining and instructive. Why lecture to your kids about morality when with a story they can begin to figure it out for themselves?

The Tortoise and the Hare, Friends at the End : (2 Books in 1) (Another Point of View) is one in a series of books from the Steck-Vaughn Company that pairs a traditional children's story the way it is normally told with the same story told from the point of view of "the bad guy." It is told much in the same vein as "The Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf."

First you read, The Tortoise in the Hare. Then, you flip the book upside down and read Friends at the End. Rabbit may be the fastest animal in the forest, but he is so competitive and self-centered that no one wants to be friends with him, so he is very sad and lonely. He says he didn't really stay up all night gloating that he would win but that he was thinking about a telling remark that another one of the forest animals had said about him. Read the book to your child to find out what he learns from the race and the remark that the other animal said about him. A heartwarming story and one that you won't mind reading over and over to your kids.

You will laugh, cry and be confused when you read this book. This book can teach you that what you think is good is not always good.

There is a boy named Peter Pan. He sprinkles fairy dust in Wendy and her two brothers. Then he shows them how to fly. He takes them to Neverland and shows them to the Lost Boys who live there. Wendy becomes their mother. She makes up rules, like any other mother would do. The boys have to follow these rules. Everything was fine until Captain Hook came with his crew to where the boys and Wendy were. While Wendy and the boys were at the lagoon, where they go every day after dinner, they see a girl named Tiger Lily, princess of her tribe. She was captured by Smee, one of Captain Hook's men. Then Peter saved her. A few days later Wendy and the boys were on their way to Wendy's house when they too were all captured by Captain Hook. Then Peter saves them. Then the lost boys, Wendy and her brothers go home. All except for Peter.

It is mostly about what the people in the book think is right with childhood. The kids in the book think that if you grow up it is bad, but in our case it is actually good.

Peter Pan is a violent book not really made for children under the age of 10 but people 10 and up can read it. It is violent because of the language that is spoken and the idea that killing could be fun. Also, the vocabulary is very difficult for children under 10 to understand. Even if you're older it is difficult to understand.

Overall, it is a good book but watch out for the violent ideas if you are reading it to little children.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen

Driving with young children in the car quickly convinced me that it was unsafe to not give them something to listen to. After ten years I have collected a large (30+) bag of books-on-tape. I have also loaned them to others and asked for opinions. Peter Pan (read by Wendy Craig) is not only my favorite, but also the favorite of my wife and most of my friends. It is excellent for all ages (4 to 80) and even most hardened teenagers. Humour, presentation, ... a prefect 10.

I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait for the new school year to begin. We are going to use this version as well as others to teach point of view. I think this book will be a great help and I really believe the kids are going to love this new spin on an old tale.

What a great idea. Dr. Granowsky has done a lot toward teaching kids about empathy withthis lovely little book.

First you can read the traditional story of Jack and the giant, then flip the book and read something completely different (even the illustrators differ)! Here is how the new telling begins:

"I am sure that the rest of you people down below are very nice. But that boy, Jack, is something else. After I was so kind to him, he stole from us, and he hurt my husband. All because we are giants! That's no reason to take our treasures or make my husband fall on his head. See what you think."

I will definitely buy other books by this author, and would encourage you to enjoy this one.