Krindlekrax Read online

  His favourite children’s book is Stig of the Dump by Clive King.

  Stephen Lee was born and raised in Essex, England. He studied Art and Graphics at Walthamstow College and then went on to become involved in social work, particularly with children. Several years later he became a freelance illustrator, and made a reputation for himself producing political cartoons. Stephen then moved into the general publishing market and his work can often be seen on book covers and as inside illustrations. Stephen now lives in Thailand, and works as a children’s book illustrator and political cartoonist.

  Guess Who?

  A She was very small, extremely thin, with a bush of frizzy red hair. She wore a green nightdress that showed off her knobbly knees, fluffy green slippers that made her feet look too big, a green dressing gown that made her arms look like twigs, and glasses with lenses so thick her eyes appeared the size of saucers.

  B He owned The Dragon and the Golden Penny pub. He was a small, bald, fat man who always wore a black tracksuit and always had a cigar in his mouth.

  C ‘It was the most terrible thing I have ever seen. When I got home that evening,’ he said, ‘I saw that all my hair had turned white. The sight of Krindlekrax had drained the colour from me.’

  D He was very tall and very strong, and always wore the clothes of an American footballer: huge padded shoulders, tight trousers and a shiny black helmet with a visor.

  E The teeth had once been white and healthy, but now they were rotten and discoloured, with slime trickling between the gums.

  ANSWERS:

  A) Wendy

  B) Mr Cave

  C) Corky

  D) Elvis

  E) Krindlekrax

  Words Glorious Words!

  We often come across new or unfamiliar words when we’re reading. Here are a few unusual words you’ll find in this Puffin book. Did you spot any others?

  cathedral a region’s most important church. Usually the church of a bishop

  contender a person who has a good chance of winning

  majestic having impressive beauty and size

  makeshift a rough replacement for something

  marmalade a fruit spread made from the juices and skins of oranges

  taffeta a fine, silky fabric with a crisp texture

  Quiz

  Thinking caps on – let’s see how much you can remember! Answers are here. (No peeking!)

  1 What does Ruskin want to be when he grows up?

  a) A train driver

  b) A firefighter

  c) A zoo keeper

  d) A famous actor

  2 What is the name of Ruskin’s street?

  a) Chameleon Road

  b) Lizard Street

  c) Dragon Crescent

  d) Crocodile Row

  3 Where did Corky work before he became the school caretaker?

  a) In the sewers

  b) On the Underground

  c) In the mines

  d) On a farm

  4 Why did Ruskin’s dad get sacked from the zoo?

  a) Because he lost a penguin

  b) Because he hurt a rhino

  c) Because he stole a crocodile

  d) Because he ate an elephant

  5 How did Corky get his medal?

  a) By stopping a bomb going off

  b) By fighting a giant crocodile

  c) By cleaning a school

  d) By fighting in a war

  ANSWERS:

  1) d

  2) b

  3) a

  4) c

  5) a

  Otzi the Iceman, the famous ice mummy, is discovered in the mountains between Austria and Italy.

  The first Starbucks Coffee House opens in California.

  Queen Elizabeth II pays a Royal Visit to the USA.

  Britain’s first astronaut, twenty-seven-year-old Helen Sharman from Sheffield, is blasted into orbit as part of the Russian scientific space mission called Project Juno.

  The World Wide Web becomes available to the public for the first time.

  Make and Do

  Make a gold medal like Corky’s! Corky gave Ruskin his medal for being a brave hero. Why don’t you make your own to match it?

  YOU WILL NEED:

  ❋ A square piece of cardboard

  ❋ A sheet of gold paper

  ❋ A long ribbon

  ❋ A safety pin

  ❋ Scissors

  ❋ Glue

  ❋ A marker pen

  1 Take the scissors and cut the cardboard into a round, medal-sized circle.

  2 Now cut two circles from the gold paper – one the same size as your cardboard circle, and one that’s slightly bigger.

  3 Cover the front of the cardboard in glue and stick the smaller gold circle to it.

  4 Now cover the back of the cardboard in glue and stick the larger gold circle to it.

  5 Bend the edges of the large gold circle so they cover the edges of the cardboard. Glue them down.

  6 Draw a star in black marker on the front of the medal.

  7 Now glue the ribbon to the back of the medal, so it’s pointing up behind the top point of the star.

  8 Finally, attach the safety pin to the top of the ribbon, on the back. Clip the pin to your shirt and you’re ready to go defeat a crocodile of your own!

  Did You Know?

  Philip Ridley is a big Shakespeare fan, just like Ruskin and Mr Lace.

  Philip Ridley also wrote the stage play adaption for Krindlekrax.

  Crocodiles and alligators are actually very different animals. Crocodiles have U-shaped snouts, while alligators have V-shaped snouts. Crocodiles live in salt water, while alligators live in fresh water. And you can see a crocodile’s teeth when it closes its mouth, while alligators keep theirs hidden.

  There are lots of stories about crocodiles living in sewers. In the 1930s, for example, there were many tales about a crocodile living in the sewers of New York. Very few of these stories ever turned out to be true, however.

  Puffin Writing Tips

  Watch the news and stay tuned to the latest happenings in the world – you never know what might spark your next idea.

  Listen to your favourite piece of music, and write about what you imagine as it plays.

  Read every draft out loud because it’s the only way you’ll find trouble spots – if you keep tripping up, think about how you could rewrite those parts.

  Your story starts here …

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  It all started with a scarecrow …

  Puffin is over seventy years old. Sounds ancient, doesn’t it? But Puffin has never been so lively. We’re always on the lookout for the next big idea, which is how it began all those years ago.

  Penguin Books was a big idea from the mind of a man called Allen Lane, who in 1935 invented the quality paperback and changed the world. And from great Penguins, great Puffins grew, changing the face of children’s books forever.

  The first four Puffin Picture Books were hatched in 1940 and the first Puffin story book featured a man with broomstick arms called Worzel Gummidge. In 1967 Kaye Webb, Puffin Editor, started the Puffin Club, promising to ‘make children into readers’. She kept that promise and over 200,000 children became devoted Puffineers through their quarterly instalments of Puffin Post.

  Many years from now, we hope you’ll look back and remember Puffin with a smile. No matter what your age or what you’re into, there’s a Puffin for everyone. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for sure: whether it’s a picture book or a paperback, a sticker book or a hardback, if it’s got that little Puffin on it – it’s bound to be good.

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  First published by Jonathan Cape 1991

  Published in Puffin Books 2001

  Reissued in this edition 2017

  Text copyright © Philip Ridley, 1991

  Illustrations copyright © Stephen Lee, 2001

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  Cover illustration by Luke Pelletier

  ISBN: 978-0-241-32678-7

  All correspondence to:

  Puffin Books

  Penguin Random House Children’s

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