Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Tasso and Baas offer a deliciously eerie version of the unnerving legend of the piper who rids a town of its rat infestation, then leads its children away when he isn't paid. Tasso sets a stage of joyful celebration as Christmas arrives at the quaint German town, but the mood quickly shifts to one of revulsion as Baas uses sinister shades of slate blue and red to create a macabre, carnival-like atmosphere, with jet-black rats scurrying over buildings, food, and furniture. Although Tasso's ending, which suggests that the "echo of happy children laughing" can still be heard in Hamelin, is not as grim as in some retellings, this haunting interpretation will linger in readers' minds. Ages 6-9. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
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. VERDICT Recommended for school and public libraries, where it will work well as a group read-aloud in storytimes and class visits. Use in discussions about ethics and moral dilemmas, or pair it with other versions of the tale and have students compare and contrast.-Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Baas sets the traditional cautionary tale at Christmas (thus occasioning the books red-and-green color scheme) and in 1283. But while the architecture of the beleaguered town looks medieval, the clothing of its inhabitants is twentieth-century; the Piper himself eschews his traditional red and yellow for an elegant black cloak and swooping hat. The book uses its tall, narrow format effectively to convey the creepy atmosphere, most dramatically in a double-page spread of the rats converging onand devouringa boxful of poison that is no match for the clever and hearty creatures who savored the poison as if it were candy. In this version, the Hamelinites dont much care for children, who seem happy enough to leave. For that child on your list of whom youre secretly afraid. roger sutton(c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Dionysian excess meets its match when rats and pipers come to play. In this Hamelin, before the onslaught of the rats, the adults revel so unceasingly (confining their children to their rooms as they do) that when the rats do invade, you couldnt wish them on a more deserving populace. Ample attention is spent on the terror the rodents bring, until at last a piper, akin in looks to one of Tomi Ungerers The Three Robbers, offers his services. When he is denied payment for a job well-done, the piper returns to take the towns children with him into the mountains. Sweetest in tone when the children are the focus, the images here are rendered entirely in evocative reds, blues, grays, and blacks. The rats are true threats, swarming and snarling, as in a beautiful silent image of them savoring a poison as if it were candy. Moody, dreamlike images suffuse the pages: a lavish, grotesque feast, red wine spilling from a glass like blood, the rats infesting a Christmas tree so that they look like extra baubles. Alas, there is an occasional disjoint between words and images, as when the text declares that the story is set in 1283 alongside images of the all-white cast sporting clothing best suited to the 1950s and 60s. This just adds to the surreal feel of this accessibly gruesome Pied Piper tale. As enticing as a pipers song and twice as alluring to the eye. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
