There are several memorable quotes from ‘The Highway Rat’ that have resonated with readers and viewers alike.

This seemingly teaches him a lesson, and, thinner, greyer and meeker, the Rat lands a job in a shop ... what kind of shop is for you to guess, but believe me it is probably an easy guess! If you’re a fan who loves to explore, you might enjoy visiting places like the Forest of Dean in England, which inspired the lush, green forests depicted in the film. Who’s who in ‘The Highway Rat’ Did you know that ‘The Highway Rat’ was inspired by Alfred Noyes’ poem ‘The Highwayman’? Or that the book has been translated into over 20 languages? These are just a few of the many fascinating facts about ‘The Highway Rat’. Cosplay tips: How to dress like your favorite ‘The Highway Rat’ charactersYou 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. Players could embark on exciting adventures, helping the Highway Rat learn valuable lessons along the way. Conclusion I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him). The Highway Rat gets fat from eating everyone else’s dinner. Can you think of a healthy diet to help him keep fit?

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?

Broadcasts

Though ‘The Highway Rat’ is an animated film, the creators drew inspiration from various real-life locations. As mom who was an English Lit major, I LOVE this cheeky little book...it's a retelling of/homage to Alfred Noyes' poem "The Highwayman" (without all the, you know, shooting and death and ghosts and whatnot). My son loves the great rhythm, and at two, fills in the words at the end of each stanza. The fact that it's a long poem makes it a fun read-aloud, and it's great to start to expose little ones to poetry concepts at an early age, from a literacy standpoint. Plus, it's just fun. Create a price list for the cake shop and imagine that some customers would like to buy a selection of the cakes. How much will they need to pay? How much change will they need to be given? What coins would be used for this?

In this post, I will be exploring various aspects of this beloved children’s book and its animated adaptation. 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. The Highway Rat’ is a delightful children’s picture book written by Julia Donaldson and beautifully illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Credits

The Highway Rat is a baddie and he takes whatever food he wants from any traveller that he stops. Pastries, puddings, buns, biscuits, nuts, fish, milk, flies and even a bunch of clover and a leaf, the last mentioned from an army of ants! He even steals his own horse's hay!