Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-10-28 20:57:19 Bookplateleaf 0004 Boxid IA145520 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Edition 1st American ed. External-identifier Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

The robbers ‘take? whatever they please’. Why is this wrong? How does it make people feel? What can we do to prevent others taking our things? This was my first Donald Westlake and after looking him up, I found he’s written quite a few books and many more under under several pseudonyms. About a dozen of them fall into this “comic crime novels” category which, by modern standards is not comedy; just two real guys behaving in real ways while going through their normal day (and night) shifts. Look at the police officer’s map and give directions (in another language) to help people move from one place to another.Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic. If your mum was a cop and your dad was a crim who needed your help to commit a crime, would you do it to save him? At what cost? Joe and Tom cross the line, but I still found myself rooting for them. Perhaps that's wrong, but who among us hasn't occasionally rooted for the rebel and the outlaw. Besides Westlake is very careful. There is very little violence and our two protagonists don't ever hurt anybody. The two victims are a very wealthy brokerage firm which lies about how much is stolen and the Mob. Not actually sympathetic organizations and that's important in stories like this if the reader is to root for the crooks.

The edition I read has this terrible front cover that makes the book out to be a farce rather than a “comic mystery” of its day. Shame that anyone judging a book by its cover would most likely miss this gem. The London cops are described as being ‘hardworking, brave and true’. Think of other words that describe the qualities of a good police officer. Look at the robbers’ Christmas Eve timetable. How long will each of their activities take? Can you make a timetable of the things that you might do on Christmas Eve?It might not be one of Westlake's strongest works, but I enjoyed it. As a long-time police officer I can appreciate some of the sentiment and even relate to the two officers, Joe and Tom. I've felt that frustration and cynicism at times my self.The job can be both boring and terrifying and there times when I really don't like the public. No I've never decided to pull of an armed robbery, but I can relate. Also I've never had an affair and I actually like my life, both the valleys and mountains. This is one of D. Westlake's "comic caper" reads. There's meant to be a certain amount of humor or lightheartedness. I won't give any spoilers in the open here so all I mention can be found in the synopsis or I'll hide it. So, the aforementioned subject matter...a couple of crooked cops. Yeah I know it's somewhat played for laughs even though the story is told straight. But it still doesn't sit well with me and I really can't identify with our "protagonists" or their point of view. Draw a plan view of each floor in the police station based on the illustration in the book. What rooms are in the building? Can you make a list of the rhyming words? Could you make your own rhyming dictionary and refer to this during your writing? This is a new Puffin edition of Allan Ahlberg's best-selling Cops and Robbers classic picture book, with a brand new cover! The robbers of London town plan a desperate crime one Christmas Eve - to steal all the toys they can lay their hands on! Fortunately, the robbers meet their match in brave office Pugh who leaps into action and arrests the villains - all except Grandma Swagg who manages to get away.