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Read the book!
Here Be Monsters!, written by Alan Snow, is the story of orphan Arthur and his friends
—including boxtrolls, cabbageheads, rats, and pirates!—and how they save the town of
Ratbridge from the evil Snatcher and his cheese-hunting sidekicks.
See the film!
Inspired by this book, there is now a major motion picture The Boxtrolls (2014)—it’s been
created by the makers of Coraline (2009) and Paranorman (2012). Check out the film’s
website at http://www.theboxtrolls.com/ for trailers and interactive activities.
You’ll find there are lots of differences between the book and the film. Which do you prefer?
Why? Or do both the book and the film each make a good story in their own right? Why do
you think the film-makers decided to make changes?
Check out these differences between the book and the film!
Book:
Here Be Monsters!
Film:
The Boxtrolls
Illustrations © Alan Snow
What is the name of the boy who
is the main character?
Who brings him up and looks
after him?
What is the name of the town where
the story is set?
Who or what does Snatcher want
to capture?
And why does he want to capture
them?
Who assists the boy in facing up to
Snatcher?
Name three characters who are
only in the book
Name three characters who are
only in the film What happens at the end?
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1
h
Who’s w
o?
Here are lots of characters from this book—can you match them up with their descriptions?
Grandfathe
Arthur
r
dger
Trotting ba
Herbert
Willbury Nibble
Snatcher
Framley
Marjorie
Gristle
r
Kippe
Titus
Fish
Tom
Rabbit woman
Illustrations © Alan Snow
Description
Who am I?
I live underground and wear clothes spun from rabbit wool. I look after rabbits,
grow vegetables, and read books.
I wear a large cardboard box, and I love nuts and bolts and anything mechanical.
My friends are called Shoe and Egg.
I’m a friendly rat, with a red spotted handkerchief on my head. With my mate
Kipper I work in the laundry, and I help in the fight against Snatcher.
I live underground in a cave house with my grandfather. I fly round Ratbridge
at night to find food for us, and I get caught up in a fight to save the town.
I was imprisoned for years in the Dungeon. I’m known as the man in the iron
socks and I have a mallet called a walloper.
I have a big top hat, sideburns and a glass eye. I’m a leading member of the
Cheese Guild and I have a monster plan to take over Ratbridge.
I have a cabbage on my head and I live underground. I’m writing a report on
gardening, and though I’m very shy I lead the search to rescue Arthur. I’m a pirate working in the Nautical Laundry. With my friend Tom, and some mobile
knickers, I join in the fight against Snatcher.
I am Arthur’s guardian and carer. I’m interested in engineering and invented the
doll phone, and Arthur’s wings. I live in a cave home where I grow rhubarb.
I used to be a rat but I was kidnapped from the laundry and force-fed with
cheeses. Now I’m a monster, called the Great One.
I am a member of the Cheese Guild and one of Snatcher’s sidekicks. Sometimes I
have to be the front legs of a ‘horse’.
I’m a retired lawyer and QC and I live with my boxtroll friends, and a guest
cabbagehead. I try to help and advise everyone in our fight against Snatcher.
I used to work in the Patent Hall and then my invention was stolen by Snatcher and
I got shrunk to seven inches high, by my own machine!
I am an animal with razor-sharp teeth and a foul temper. I’m the size of a large dog,
really wild, and I’ll eat anything.
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1
ord
Crossw e
Puzzl
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
DOWN
1. Where Arthur and the Boxtrolls live
beneath Ratbridge (10)
2. In the fighting they had to ---- to be
heard (4)
4. Arthur needs the keys to get -----the cells (6)
5. This is generated to make a
powerful magnet (11)
9. The fashionable shape of ladies’
bottoms! (9)
11. The magnet attracts objects made
of ----- (5)
12. The man in the iron socks (7)
13. These shy creatures wear boxes (9)
15. The place where prisoners are
kept beneath the Cheese Hall (7)
Illustrations © Alan Snow
ACROSS
3. Inventor of the size-extracting
machine (8)
6. The leader of the cheese hunt (8)
7. Arthur’s means of transport over
Ratbridge (5)
8. Hero of this book, brought up by
his grandfather (6)
10. Name of the rat who becomes the
Great One (7)
14. Arthur has to ----- grandfather
behind underground (5)
16. Used for pedal power to help free
Arthur from his cell (7)
17. Held by Arthur, the Boxtrolls, and
all their friends to celebrate their
victory (5)
18. The Ratbridge Nautical ------washes whiter! (7)
19. Arthur’s ‘mobile phone’ (4)
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Talking e
th
about
book
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How did you feel at the end of reading the book?
Which parts did you especially like?
Are there any parts you didn’t like?
Which scenes from the story stay in your mind the most?
Did you skip any parts? Which ones?
Was there anything that took you by surprise?
Were there any bits you couldn’t make sense of?
What kind of a book did you think it was going to be?
Would you recommend this book to someone else? What would you say about it?
Here Be Monsters!: Why do you think the book has this title? Who are the monsters? Do
you think it’s a good title, or would you call it something else? Find out about why the words
‘Here Be Dragons’ appear on old maps.
The names of the boxtrolls: e.g. Fish, Egg, and Match. Why do they have these names?
Think up some more boxtroll names!
Living underground/Cave dwelling: How do you think it was for Arthur and his
grandfather to live in a damp cave underground and only come out at night to forage for
food? When Arthur first sees children in daylight, why does he ask ‘What do children do?’
(p. 45). Find out about other underground communities, both fictional and in real life
—e.g. homeless people living under large cities; or the Dark Wild in Piers Torday’s book*
Fashion and Advertising: Snatcher, disguised as Madame Froufrou, persuades Ratbridge
women that the miniature creatures are an exclusive, ‘must have’ thing to buy (p. 47).
Discuss how advertising—e.g. on the television or online—to get us to want and buy things.
Smells: there’s a lot about smells in this book! Talk about how smells can help you to
describe and remember things. Make a list of all the smells you can find in this story – e.g.
rhubarb (p.163), Oil of Brussels (p.160), Willbury Nibble’s living room (p.22).
Books and reading: on p.144 we meet the rabbit
Activity
See the slogan for the
Nautical
Laundry (p.68): ‘We wa
sh whiter
and boil things bright
er’. Make up
a name and a slogan
for one of
these businesses: car
repair
workshop; hairdresser
; furniture
removal; plumber; wa
shing
machine repair; hous
e painter.
*
See further reading list
Illustrations © Alan Snow
women working, and reading aloud to each other.
Fen, one of the rabbit women, says ‘We are very
fond of books. You can learn nearly everything
from them that rabbits can’t teach you.’Do you
agree? Where else can you learn things as well
as from teachers and books?
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1
r
Furthe
g
readin
If you liked Here be Monsters!, try these books next!
trolls
Tove Jansson Finn Family Moomintroll
Moomintroll and his family, including Snuffkin, Snork, and Sniff,
and the adventures of these innocent Moomin Valley creatures.
Alan
Trolls Go Home (Troll Trouble)
MacDonald Fun adventures of the hairy, smelly Troll family
Mark Beech
cheese!
Jon Scieszka The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Lane Smith
A collection of subverted fairy tales
publications linked to the film THE boxtrolls!
Elizabeth
The Boxtrolls
Cody
An original novel based on the major motion film, The Boxtrolls.
Kimmel
Make Your Own Boxtroll Punch-out Activity Book
Inside this book you’ll find everything you need to create your
own collection of characters from the blockbuster film The
Boxtrolls!
Oxford
University
Press
978-0-19-273829-5
Scholastic
978-1407136134
Quercus
978-1782064855
Allen &
Unwin
978-1742376752
Frances
Lincoln
978-0711221321
Yearling
978-0440866541
Oxford
University
Press
978-0192727121
Puffin
978-0140301502
Bloomsbury 978-0747584735
Puffin
978-0140548969
Oxford
University
Press
Oxford
University
Press
978-0192739452
978-0192739445
Illustrations © Alan Snow
Underground
Lewis Caroll Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
Read about Alice’s mind-boggling adventures down the rabbit
hole, including a ‘Drink Me’ potion which can shrink you or make
you grow monster-size!
Samantha
The London Underground
Meredith
Activity Book Facts, stories, quizzes, and games about London’s
Underground system.
Piers Torday The Dark Wild
Deep underground, a dark wild remains: a story about animals
who believe the time is right to rise up against their human
enemies.
Jennifer
The Tunnels of Tarcoola
Walsh
An exciting adventure in tunnels beneath a spooky old house.
inventions
Laurence
Leonardo and the Flying Boy
Anholt
A story about painter, inventor, and genius, Leonardo da Vinci,
and his attempts to invent a flying machine.
Paul Stewart Fergus Crane (Far Flung Adventures)
Chris
A winged mechanical horse, penguin helpers, and
Riddell
pirate teachers, and a mission for Fergus to save his
schoolmates from Fire Island.
Robin
Professor Puffendorf’s Secret Potions
Tzannes
Professor Puffendorf is a world-class inventor—where would we
Korky Paul
be without her Unburnable Toast and Smell-o-Telephone?
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1
y
Activit
ideas
Inventions: there are lots of fascinating
inventions in this book. Make a list of them
all—e.g. the doll that can fly, and works as a
mobile phone; Arthur’s wings; Marjorie’s sizeextracting machine; and the mobile knickers!
Activity: Think up a new invention
which would
help Arthur and his friend
s in their adventures
—e.g. something to do wit
h cheese? Or trotting
badgers? Draw, name and
label your invention. Then
imagine you’re on the pro
gramme Dragon’s Den and
‘pitch’ your invention: descr
ibe what it’s for and how
it works – and why they sho
uld buy one!
Magnet power!: Marjorie uses a beam
engine and generators to power up a large
magnetic coil, so that it has the strength to
connect with the metal armour on the
Great One—and then drag it to destruction.
the form of a flow
Activity: Draw a plan— it could be inwork
s, and each
chart—showing how this magnet then
ly explodes.
thing that happens before the Great One final
Craft and drama activity: Have a go at
making some of these (you may need an adult
to help you!) and then use them for a drama
activity acting out scenes from the book.
Activity
k (see p.XX)
• Use The Boxtrolls Activity Boo
.
ls
to make your own boxtrol
from yoghurt
• Make collection buckets (p.53)
top to make
the
at
e
pots: attach string or tap
ng or use
stri
the
for
a ‘handle’ (punch holes
stick or
pea
.
(e.g
k
masking tape); get a stic
cket’
‘bu
r
you
ch
atta
cane, about 0.5m) and
to the end of the stick.
stle! (p.10)
• Be a ‘horse’ like Trout and Gri
nket, being
bla
a
er
You need two people und
as in this
se,
hor
the
of
the front and hind legs
!
you
ride
one
any
picture—but don’t let
that fits you,
• Be a boxtroll yourself! Get a box
r head. You
you
and
s
make holes for your arm
for your
box
the
of
tom
could take out the bot
paint/
and
e
hav
’ll
you
legs. Think what name
decorate your box.
Be a researcher: Use this research sheet to find out more about some of the real-life
machines and objects which turn up in in Here Be Monsters!
Object (with page no.)
What is it for?
What does it
look like?
How does it work/
how is it used?
Beam engine (p.72)
Chaise longue (p.104)
Console (p.103)
Dutch crane hoist (p.80)
Gantry (p.103)
Sextant (p.82)
Illustrations © Alan Snow
Spinning wheel (144)
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1
ur
o
y
t
n
e
Inv
rling
e
d
n
u
o wn
!
species
In Here Be Monsters!, there are several different kinds of underlings living in the Underworld,
including boxtrolls, cabbageheads and rabbit women.
Look at this fact file about a boxtroll and then use the fact file template below to create a totally
new species of underling to join these creatures in the Underworld!
Underling Fact File
NAME:
SPECIES:
OCCUPATION:
LIKES:
SPECIAL
CHARACTERISTICS:
APPEARANCE:
Fish
Boxtroll (a sub-species of the common troll)
Looks after the tunnels and plumbing
underground. Drains passages and shores up
tunnels and caves.
Everything mechanical! Collects nuts and bolts
and tools.
• Very shy, so live inside a box
• Doesn’t understand about ownershop,
so steals anything not bolted down
(and often anything that is!)
Arms, legs and head protruding from a box.
Big teeth.
Now fill in this blank fact file with a picture and all the facts about your new underling species!
Underling Fact File
NAME:
SPECIES:
OCCUPATION:
LIKES:
SPECIAL
CHARACTERISTICS:
Illustrations © Alan Snow
APPEARANCE:
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What
s
happen
next?!
To grab your attention and keep you reading, the chapters of a good story will often
have exciting first sentences, and cliff-hanger endings! You’ll find some great examples
in Here Be Monsters!
For example:
Chapter 6 – first sentence
Cliff-hanger chapter ending
‘Arthur woke up with a start’ (p.31)
‘Things did not look good’ (p.35)
Change the story!
Read through this scene from
Here Be Monsters! Think about
how it fits into the story. Then try
imagining a completely different
ending to this part of the story –
what could happen instead?
Re-write the scene with your
changes. How will this affect the
rest of the story? Will it mean a
completely different ending?
Or can there be the same
ending, with a different way
of getting there?
Herbert led the way thr
ough the streets of Ra
tbridge. As
Willbury surveyed the
little army, he wondere
d about their
selection of weapons.
Some of the pirates ca
rried large pants,
and were accompanied
by rats carrying gung
e balls made of
laundry waste. This he
understood, but the oth
ers. . .
The boxtrolls had selec
ted screwdrivers and
adjustable
spanners, Titus had fou
nd a small trowel and
a bucket full of
gravel, and the other
pirates and rats seem
ed
to have grabbed
anything that was hand
y—mops, buckets, old
fishing rods.
Willbury carried an um
brella that was keeping
him dry from
the storm that was mo
ving in, and that he tho
ught might be
useful in a fight, while
Arthur walked by his
sid
e carrying the
doll.
The thunder grew clo
ser as they stood in fro
nt of the Cheese
Hall in the rain.
Attack on the Cheese Hall (p.196)
’ asked the captain.
Kipper smiled. ‘Perhap
s Herbert could “ope
n” the front door
for us, and we could cre
ep in that way and su
rprise them?’
‘I don’t think there wi
ll be much surprise aft
er the noise of
Herbert walloping do
wn the door,’ said Arthu
r.
‘If we wait for a flash
of lightning, count a few
seconds, then
Herbert wallops the do
or, the thunder will ma
sk the sound,’
suggested Tom.
‘That is a very intellige
nt idea!’ Willbury agree
d, smiling at
Tom.
They waited for a minu
te or so until the next
flash came.
Willbury held up a fin
ger, counted for a few
seconds, then gave
the signal to Herbert.
At the very moment the
walloper struck
the door, a loud clap
of thunder filled the str
eet. The front door
was reduced to match
sticks.
‘Right! Get the mobile
knickers ready,’ ordere
d the captain.
Illustrations © Alan Snow
‘Right, what’s the plan?
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ell
Ho w w o w
kn
u
o
y
o
d
dge?
i
r
b
t
a
R
Which is the right description for each of these Ratbridge places?
N.B. one question has 2 right answers!
The Cheese Hall is
A.
Built of blocks of hard cheese
B.
The home of the Ratbridge Cheese Guild
C.
A museum about cheese
The Patent Hall is
A.
Where people bring their inventions
B.
Where people wait to see a doctor
C.
A stately home
The Glue Factory is:
A.
A place where Snatcher makes cheese into glue
B.
A building with twin roofs, which Arthur flies over
C.
A repair workshop for broken furniture
An entrance to the Underworld can be:
A.
A heavy iron drain cover
B.
A gate guarded by underlings
C.
A hole between the roots of a tree
Ratbridge Market is:
A.
A cattle market
B.
A deserted square
C.
A busy place with lots of stalls and lots of things for sale
The Nautical Laundry is on:
A.
A pirate ship docked in the canal
B.
An ocean liner out at sea
C.
A steamship towed on to dry land
A.
On the road out of town
B.
Opposite the Cheese Hall
C.
Down by the canal
Illustrations © Alan Snow
The Nag’s Head Inn is
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1
ERS
W
S
N
A
How Well Do You Know Ratbridge?
B
A
B
A&C
C
A
B
Crossword solution
2
Y
U
6
S N A T C H E R
3
L
D
L
E
8
9
A R T H U R
10
E
F
W
12
X
O
14
A
R
L E A V
G
L
15
16
O
D
B I C
D
N
U
18
L A U N D R Y
L
G
E
19
D O L L
N
4
M A R J O R I E
N
7
W I N G S
I
D
11
R A M L E Y
13
E
B
T
O
E
A
X
T
Y C L E
5
E
L
E
C
T
R
I
C
I
T
17
P A R T Y
O
L
L
S
Illustrations © Alan Snow
1
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