The Pied Piper of Hamelin: An Old Legend Collected by the Brothers Grimm

Gr 2–4—This version is true to the strangeness of the original tale. Spare, haunting illustrations evoke dreamlike scenes that carry emotional resonance. For instance, the first illustration to accompany the text depicts a tall, lean figure standing on top of a stool to the right of the picture frame. Across from him, a rat on hind legs sits up on a table to return his gaze, as if asking if dinner is ready. The picture is full of empty space. It depicts a white table cloth, a wooden floor, and muted walls with a window casting light upon the rat. The formal pictures are often tense, as if predicting something yet to come. The text provides a complementary eeriness by allowing the strange elements of uncertain fact to leak into the story: "One day in the year 1284—so the old legend says—a strange man appeared in Hamelin." This is a fine translation that keeps a lovely cadence while highlighting the original tale. The syntax is often sophisticated and varied for early independent readers so it is best read aloud. An afterword provides some background on the Pied Piper legend, explaining that rather than beginning with "Once upon a time," the Brothers Grimm began this tale with an actual date, June 26, 1284, and that the children's disappearance was noted in the town's register.—Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA