Draw a picture showing the inside of one of the Highway Rat’s bags. What different items has he stolen? Find out about the highwaymen of the past. What did they do? Do you know the names of any famous highwaymen? This time it is story of a predatory, villainous and avaricious rodent and as usual there is a suitable and satisfying denouement – a moral well delivered by the story.

The author uses different words to describe how the Highway Rat speaks (e.g. declared, bellowed). Can you think of any more? Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Shaffer (The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom), The Highway Rat is a delightful story. It’s largely written in verse which lends it a tremendous pace and sense of excitement that will engage younger children, particularly in years one and two. The moral issue of theft which forms the central conceit of the book lends itself to further extraction and questioning. Using talk partners, you can ask children to come up with responses to particular questions – is The Highway Rat right to steal their food etc? What would you do if The Highway Rat stole your food? Last Christmas the company produced a two-part animated special based on Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes. Premiering on BBC One on the 26 and 27 of December the films featured the voices of Dominic West, David Walliams, Rose Lesley and Jemma Chan. With over 10 million viewers for their first broadcast slots, the films have just been nominated for a BAFTA and an International Emmy, and have already won multiple awards including the Cristal for best TV Production, Annecy. The Highway Rat’ (2016) is another first rate little adventure for younger readers from the accomplished pen of Julia Donaldson, with the usual and lovely accompanying illustrations by Axel Sheffler. My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading. The Highway Rat’s manners were ‘rough and rude’. Can you make a list of good manners to help the Highway Rat be nicer to others? The Highway Rat terrorises the local village. Cunning, daring and altogether selfish, he delights in stealing the locals’ food. But they won’t stand for it much longer. Find out about the police and how they help people in society. Could you invite a member of the police force to your school to talk to you about their jobs? What questions would you ask them?

Although the story line is very simple, there is a lot of cross curricular links there. Our year 2 created a ‘WANTED!’ poster for the Highway Rat and wrote about the crimes of the rat and why they needed to catch him as soon as possible. The children had to use a range of descriptive language to make their writing interesting and for creating a sense of urgency. In addition, our year 2 created their own version of the capture of the Highway Rat with a clear beginning, middle and end. They had to use a lot of similes, adjectives and body language to create tension and a chase to grab their reader’s attention.You get a sense (or at least I did) whilst reading the book that it’s a very ‘active’ story. By that I don’t just mean its plot is full of cause and effect, but also that it lends itself to being acted out. This is a fun story that you can use to celebrate and promote reading. Using some of your class as a chorus, a few children as the lead characters and after having made character masks and props in class, The Highway Rat would make a perfect assembly piece. Although he prefers pastries and chocolate and cake, he’ll take anything you have. For as he says, “I am the Rat of the Highway – the Highway – the Highway. Yes I am the Rat of the Highway, and whatever I want I take.” Before you start reading the book look at the cover illustration and title together. What does your child think will happen in this story? They maybe unsure what a highway is and this may be a good point to talk about highwaymen – or you could do so later after enjoying the story together. Read the story as far as the lines about the animals growing thinner and thinner. How does your child think the animals feel? Is there anything the animals can do? Continue reading to the end of the story.