I used it in PSHE (to discuss bullying) and as a stimulus for writing which really engaged the children. I have been reading this with a group of children in my class at school, throughout reading they have commented several times about how good a story it is and how much they have enjoyed it. Ruskin Splinter is not your typical hero for the school play, and his class, including his teacher, knew this.

And when Krindlekrax threatens Lizard Street, Ruskin has the chance to prove he really is the stuff heroes are made of! Characters in Philip Ridley’s stories usually have catchphrases, and these can become refrains to be joined in with when the books are read aloud. There were only two candidates for the part, Ruskin and the school bully, Elvis and so to make it fair the teacher held auditions. This book was read to my class in year 3 and year 4 by the best teacher I have ever had, I always remembered the story but never remembered the name of the book until recently when I came across it at the library whilst looking for my daughter some books to lend. had that surreal feel of Skellig, although obv very different, with eccentric characters and dreamlike anecdotes.Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Suddenly Corky unexpectedly dies, and everyone suspects it to be a heart attack, but Ruskin knows that Krindlekrax was responsible, and is angry with all of Lizard Street for allowing it to happen.

citation needed] Amongst the plays were Kridlekrax, the script of which has been republished by Samuel French in an "acting edition", after many years of being out of print. I liked how the description of each character was so powerful and the illustrations gave a sense of how weird and wonderful the characters in Lizard Street are. A funny school story with weird and wonderful characters by the award-winning author, Philip Ridley. I did find the Elvis character almost overwhelmingly irritating, but like a good pantomime villain it makes for more cheers when things are evened out at the end.Mildly creased front endpaper, else near fine, in gilt-lettered green boards; in a very mildly age-toned, otherwise illustrated dust jacket with minor creasing and shelfwear.

Unfortunately for Ruskin, he did not perform to his best and so Elvis got awarded the part of hero for the school play. This witty, off-the-wall story is a classic rip-roaring adventure, from award-winning author Philip Ridley. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. The whole thing was, frankly, ludicrous and worse than that, did not address the topic of animal cruelty when there was the perfect opportunity to do so. Ruskin is therefore delighted when Corky tells him the terrifying story of Krindlekrax: the giant crocodile who lives beneath their town's streets.Later that night, Ruskin lures the monster out of the sewers, and tames it by throwing Corky's medal in its mouth, banishing it to the sewers forever.

Small and thin, with knock-knees, thick glasses, a squeaky voice, no one at Ruskin's school believes he's capable of anything - all except for Ruskin's only friend Corky, the school caretaker. Three stars as i only read this book due to nostalgia etc and I love the story but it didn’t have the same magic about it that it had when I was 8/9 years old. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.There's a large and vicious alligator who lives in the sewers,, several caricatured adults (including Ruskin's rather sad parents and his teacher) and a bully who breaks windows and sleep walks. It centres around a 9-year-old boy named Ruskin Splinter, who is small and thin with thick glasses, red frizzy hair, knock-knees and a squeaky voice. Each character had a catchphrase and the one that stood out for me was Wendy Splinters “Polly wolly doodle all the day”. I do think it's one of those where a good title and a healthy dose of hype has helped it into classrooms; there's a strong repetition of Lizard Street sounds and catch phrases which enhances its catchiness.