Highway Robbery [Library Binding]

Kate Thompson (Author), Robert Dress (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2009 | Age Level: 10 and up

Hold the mare for me, lad. And when I come back I'll give you a golden guinea.'It's more money than the street urchin has ever dreamt of. But who is the rider, and why is there so much interest in his big black horse? And will the boy ever see the money he has been promised?There's highway robbery in the air, but it isn't always entirely clear just who is trying to rob who.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A narrative rich in language, told with panache and begging to be shared aloud, along with Duddle and Dress’s comical, detailed sketches of its Dickensian denizens and the romantically elegant Black Bess.” (The Horn Book )

“It’s a suspenseful and tautly written story as is, and Thompson’s sly twist makes it all the richer.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“This short chapter book with plentiful pen-and-ink drawings supplied by Dress, large font and lines spaced apart for easy reading is just the thing for those leaving early readers behind and wanting fast-paced action, dry humor and an ending that leaves room for discussion.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Kate Thompson is the award-winning author of The New Policeman and The Last of the High Kings. She lives on the west coast of Ireland.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061730351
• ISBN-13: 978-0061730351
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,084,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: HIGHWAY ROBBERY, July 17, 2009

By 

Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Highway Robbery (Hardcover)

Richie's Picks: HIGHWAY ROBBERY by Kate Thompson, Greenwillow, June 2009, 117p., ISBN: 978-0-06-173034-4

"Round the corner he came, a tall rider on a big black horse, and the pigs and chickens cleared the road in double-quick time to get out of his way. I stepped back myself, sir, even though I was already out of the road, and I squeezed myself tight against the wall. Still he came on, at full tilt, his black cloak streaming in the air behind him and now I could see his face, his cheeks red from the cold and his mustaches as black as the black horse under him.
"He didn't look at me at all as he came on, but I saw his eye fix on something beside me. The alleyway, I think it was. And just as he drew level, he straightened in the saddle and reined in the mare so fast she sat right down on her tail in a shower of mud. Some of it hit me in the face, sir. That's how close I was.
"The rider sprang off as light as a cat and pulled the reins over the horse's head. Then he marched straight over to me and put them in my hand. I gaped up at him and my mouth must have been as big as a badger hole. You can imagine, I'm sure, how astonished I was. He was very tall, that man, and his cheeks were red and he was breathing hard and there were tear tracks across his face. He looked wild and mad, sir, and I have to admit that the sight of him terrified me.
"But of course the way he looked was not because he was angry or excited but because he had been traveling so fast through the icy weather. And indeed, when he opened his mouth, it was not to yell at me, which is what I expected, but to say quite gently:
"'Hold the mare for me, lad. And when I come back, I'll give you a golden guinea.'
"And he ruffled my hair for me, sir. Look. Like this. Made it stand up like a bunch of straw. I would have done anything for him after that."

So begins the engaging tale of a grand horse as told by a young barefooted beggar child to an anonymous gentleman he has accosted on a back street. It is an exceptionally fun story wrought with danger, intrigue, and double crosses. The sense of time and place evoke Dickens and the manner in which the lad conveys the story reminds one of Poe's rules for short stories (The story must be read in one sitting and there must be one effect to which all of the action in the story contributes.). This exquisitely crafted first person narrative, in which the horse-holding lad encounters a series of characters, makes for a heck of a read aloud. (I've already done one performance and it easily fits into a block period.)

"'You're tempted, aren't you?' He stepped closer to me as he said it, and glanced quickly up and down the street."

Watch out! You just never know who might come charging down that road next (OR suddenly reappear)!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The lad is selling something, but are you buying it?, July 12, 2010

By 

small review - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highway Robbery (Hardcover)

Highway Robbery starts out with a sales pitch. The narrator's voice is charming and unctuous, which should be the reader's first tip off that this whole story is a con. Who is the narrator, what is he selling, and what is he really about are the questions the reader should be asking as they rapidly turn the pages. What follows includes excitement, moral dilemmas, shady characters, heroes, and a beautiful horse at the center of it all. Who are the heroes and who are the shady characters and what are the right resolutions to the moral dilemmas all depend on your perspective, which may or may not line up with that of the narrator.

Well-crafted and fun, Highway Robbery breathes fresh air into a genre riddled with stale plot devices. Slim but weighty, this book offers multiple opportunities for discussion on a variety of topics including unreliable narrators, writing devices, perspective, and morality. Wonderful for the classroom or private enjoyment (for all ages!), Highway Robbery has much to offer. The gorgeous illustrations are a positive addition.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who will buy?, July 19, 2009

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Highway Robbery (Hardcover)

I've been talking a lot about unreliable narrators in my children's book reviews lately. Not entirely sure why that is. I guess it may have something to do with the fact that I've been seeing a lot more of them popping up in kids books lately. The other day I read and reviewed "Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully" which had the advantage of being the kind of unreliable that is evident right from Chapter One. Then I recently had the good fortune to stumble on author Kate Thompson's early chapter book "Highway Robbery". I liked the cut of its jib. Its easygoing style and plucky hero. I had also heard it was a good unreliable narrator tale, and I was willing to go along with that, but there was nothing indicating to me that the main character was unreliable in the least. Then I got to the end and the whole premise tipped itself over backwards and around. Slim and exciting, Thompson's newest isn't quite like anything out there. And that's a good thing.

As our young ragamuffin street kid will tell you, he wasn't bothering anyone. Just minding his own business when this elegant gentleman and his magnificent horse pulled up and spotted him. The man offered our hero a real golden guinea if the boy would just watch his horse for a while. The boy agrees and there begins his troubles. Everyone from girls to farmers to villains wants to take a closer look at the horse. It isn't until a regiment of soldiers arrives, however, that the truth comes out. This horse is none other than Black Bess, owned by the highwayman Dick Turpin. Now the soldiers want the boy to remain so as to lure Turpin into their clutches. Does he dare refuse? And when the story is done, will you, the reader, believe a word that's been said?

Kate Thompson is the author of "The New Policeman" and its sequel "The Last of the High Kings". And to be blunt, I was not particularly fond of "The New Policeman". I thought it had quite a few nice ideas, but it didn't enthrall me. The text seemed too slow and the pages too many. So, admittedly, I was reluctant to even pick up "Highway Robbery" at first. When you get right down to it, though, I think that the entire reason I like this book so much has to do with the fact that it does what I wanted "The New Policeman" to do. It's quick, it's to the point, it's funny, and it's immediately engaging. With this book I can see that Thompson can write a fast-paced and furious title when she has half a mind to do so. And huzzah for that, says I.

The funny thing about the story is that it almost reads like a stage play. In fact, if you wanted to turn it into a one-act play for kids it would be exceedingly easy to do so. The main character spends most of the book barefoot and standing in one place. There is one fast-paced chase sequence, but that's easy enough to fake on a stage. No, the impression one is left with is that this was originally a play that Thompson adapted to a book. It's like the "Horton Hatches the Egg" of Dickensesque middle grade novels. Our hero is given a job that he sees through to the end, no matter what the outcome. Considering the nature of the story, this could also have been a short story spun out a bit so that it becomes an early chapter book. Hard to say how it started.

There's a strange moment in the book where our lad (strange that he doesn't have a name, isn't it?) has to make a decision and the decision that he makes is later regretted. Near the end of the tale two villains try to steal the horse and are stopped by the King's men. Our narrator is suddenly given a choice. If he says that one of the men is the guy who gave him the horse in the first place he'll get paid AND Dick Turpin won't get caught. If he doesn't, then Dick could get caught and the boy may get nothing. In the end, he turns in the villain, which he seems to bitterly regret later down the line. You don't usually find protagonists regretting the arrest of villains, but this boy (at least in his head) has quite a few moral conundrums to work through.

Illustrator Jonny Duddle does a fine job of bringing the boy's story to life. Interestingly enough he renders the human characters, particularly the narrator, as almost comic book types. There's not a great deal of realism there. Black Bess, on the other hand, is never anything but 100% realistic. I also enjoyed how Duddle took care to obscure your view of the horse in the first picture in the book. You see our hero talking with a tall well-dressed gentleman, weaving the story we're about to read. In the boy's hands are reins, and just the tip of a horse's nose behind him. For all we know, the horse is a nag or an elegant beast. It's entirely open to interpretation.

Of course the ideal pairing with this book is alongside Sid Fleischman's "The Whipping Boy". Both books employ similar jovial narratives. Both take place in the past. Both show the cream and dredges of society. Both are well illustrated with pen-and-ink pics. And, most important of all, both are remarkably short little tales. "Highway Robbery" will definitely appeal to the reader reluctant to pick up a book longer than 100 pages (this one has a mere 117 and a large font) and it provides a slam-bang story from start to finish. Strange and a reading delight, kids will get a kick out of this. Whether they trust the narrator or not is another story entirely.