Trolls, Go Home! - Hardcover

The suburban Priddle family is horrified when the Troll family moves in next door. It's not just each Troll's scary size and hairy appearance that's so alarming. There is also little Edrik Troll's roaring practice, the family's decorating style ("A nice bit of dirt on the floor, some moldy leaves--it'll soon look like home"), and their diet: Mrs. Priddle believes that human children are the Trolls' staple food. Gradually, though, the two families reach out, uncover misunderstandings, and inch toward friendship. Kids will hear the messages about cultural tolerance, but it's the slapstick comedy that will draw readers into this first entry in the Troll Trouble series. MacDonald includes deliciously silly vocabulary ("Uggsome!" Edrik yells when he is pleased); inventive details about the Troll lifestyle; and fractured-fairy-tale references to the Billy Goats Gruff. Beech's scribbly line drawings turn up the humor, especially in the endearing portraits of the big, bright-eyed Trolls, wildly dressed, eager to please, and proud to be themselves. Gillian Engberg
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