Highway Robbery

Very clever book that you must read right to the end! A street urchin is left holding a big black mare for a man he is convinced is the highwayman Dick Turpin. The boy tells a tale of trying to save the mare from being stolen, having it used as a trap to catch Dick Turpin and about the famous highwayman's capture and demise. The twist is in the end. Read it and laugh about who is committing "highway robbery". Very clever.

Narrated by a poor young waif who seems to be holding the horse of the famous highwayman, DickTurpin, a Robin Hood type hero. The narrator poor and cold is approached by scalawags who try to swindle him out of the horse, Black Bess. An army captain in pursuit of Durpin recognizes Black Bess and demands that the narrator assist in the capture of his hero. The narrator who “may be poor but is not a thief” struggles with his conscious throughout the book as different characters make different demands. This is a short book (118 pages). The sympathetic narrator, writing style, Dickensian illustrations, and moral dilemma make it an excellent candidate for a read aloud. The delightful twist at the end is a perfect segue into a discussion show more of character traits and reliable/unreliable narrators. show less

A young street urchin tells the tale about his adventure/ordeal in being entrusted by the famous Dick Turpin to hold his horse while Turpin ran an errand.. Kids should love it. Lots of artwork ala Illustrated Classics. I enjoyed it as an entertaining short story and quick read :-)

Dick Turbin is in town conducting business. While conducting that business, he has a young boy go watch his horse in the cold and muddy street. The only problem with Dick Turbin is he is a notorious outlaw known for his highway robberies. Eventually soldiers concoct a plan to catch the famous outlaw while the boy is holding his horse. While the plot is moving along, the young boy tells his own story throughout the book also. I found this book to be okay. The story was good, but not great. There were some moments where the young homeless boy had good humored moments throughout. The illustrations were portrayed to help the reader visualize the story and they were present on several pages throughout the story. This would be a tough book to show more connect to curriculum, maybe through the Wild West Days of America, or a good AR book. show less

Good, old-fashioned, exciting adventure story set in 18th-century England.

A young beggar boy claims it is the highwayman Dick Turpin who gave him the black mare to watch. He tells of attempts to steal her, and of soldiers setting a trap for Turpin, and an adventurous night when he was left to watch the man's horse.

On a cold day in eightheenth-century England, a poor young boy agrees to watch a stranger's fine horse for a golden guinea but soon finds himself in a difficult situation when the king's guard appears and wants to use him as bait in their pursuit of a notorious highwayman.