The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Gr 2–4—The familiar tale is brought to rousing life in this German import via a lively, robust narration and menacing, rat-infested illustrations featuring contemporary characters and settings. Audiences who don't know the story will be fascinated by the plight of the Pied Piper, who delivers on his guarantee to rid the town of Hamelin, Germany, of its rat invasion in the year 1283 but then is paid a mere fraction of the hefty reward the town's mayor had promised. The Piper soon returns to exact a terrible revenge. Playing a strange, mesmerizing tune on his pipe, he leads the town's children away in the same manner in which he enchanted the offending rats. Their parents, heretofore practically oblivious of their children, are powerless to stop the en masse procession, and the children are never seen again. The palette is notable for its bold blues and reds and shadowy blacks in scenes of the town, while depictions of citizens, especially the parade of children, are vividly colorful. The use of contemporary clothing and background details is an interesting choice, though there's a disconnect between the modern-day look and the mention of the medieval year; one could argue that the year might have been omitted to emphasize the immediacy of the tale and its ever-current moral about the importance of keeping promises.