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The Good Thieves

Book Synopsis

Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack’s spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home.

She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.

Katherine Rundell’s fifth novel is a heist as never seen before – the story of a group of children who will do anything to right a wrong.

Our Review Panel says...

The Good Thieves transports readers back to the roaring twenties in New York City, complete with its mafia presence, its speak-easy hide-outs and promises of wealth. Vita arrives in New York to find that her grandfather has been robbed of his family home, Hudson Castle, by mafia-linked scammers. Clever and spirited Vita gathers together a crew of unlikely vagabonds to help her reclaim it, becoming the ‘good thieves’ who will carry out a Robin Hood style mission leading to a daring heist scene.

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The Good Thieves: Teaching Pack

Created for use in KS2 lessons, these resources from the publisher are for classes of any ability in Years Five and Six. The four extracts included within the pack have been taken directly from the text and are accompanied by corresponding discussion questions and cross-curricular activities that stimulate ideas around important themes from the story.

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