Three Billy Goats Buenos

Hi! I’m Ms. Gaby and below you’ll find a quick guide to use while reading the rhyming hardcover book (English with key words in Spanish) Three Billy Goats Buenos.

Before Reading:

• Let’s look at the front cover, how many goats do you see? Is there another character on the cover? What do you think this book might be about?
• Let’s look at the back cover for some clues.
• Do you know what the word Bueno means?
• This book was written by Susan Middleton Elya, she is the author.

During Reading:

• This book has short, simple text, in rhyme, so as we read, let’s use some intonation, and concentrate on pronouncing and elaborating on the key words. In this case, we can focus on the highlighted words in Spanish and offer its translation:
  • Río – River
  • Gigante – Giant
  • Elefante – Elephant
  • Ojos – Eyes
  • Uno – One
  • Inteligente – Smart/ Clever
  • Puente – Bridge
  • Cabrito – Little goat
  • Momentito – Short moment
  • Ningunos – No one
  • Desayunos – Breakfast
  • Sabroso – Tasty
  • Delicioso – Delicious
  • Dientes – Teeth
  • Labios – Lips
  • Lado – Side
  • Prado – Prairie
  • Número – Number
  • Dos – Two
  • Voz – Voice
  • Cabeza – Head
  • Hermano – Brother
  • Tres – Three
  • Después – Later/After
  • Espina – Thorn
  • Vecina – Neighbor
  • Lágrima – Tear
  • Hierbas – Herbs
  • Frutas – Fruits
  • Manzanas – Apples
  • Cara – Face
  • Amigos – Friends
• Additional vocabulary words to point to and elaborate upon:
  • Brotherly
  • Crisscross
  • Grumpy
  • Tootsies
  • Glowing
  • Hook
  • Bobbing
  • Sobbing
  • Meadow
  • Lush
  • Halt
  • Chompers
  • Whiskered
  • Frolicked
  • Gentle
  • Swollen
  • Soothe
  • Extremity
  • Paste
  • Orchard

After Reading:

• Let’s talk about what we just read/listened to:
  • How many goats were in the story? (Three/Tres)
  • What were the goats trying to do? (cross the Bridge/Puente)
  • Who was standing in their way? (a giant troll / un troll gigante)
  • Was the troll happy? (no, it was grumpy)
  • Why was the troll so grumpy? (it had a thorn stuck in one toe)
  • What did the goats do to help the troll? (removed the thorn, gathered hierbas/herbs y frutas/fruits to heal the troll’s toe)
  • Let’s draw our own grumpy/enfadado and happy/Feliz/contento Troll! (On one side of the paper we’ll draw the grumpy troll, and the happy troll on the other side.)

Give these suggestions a try and let us know how it went in a comment below!