In the town of Hamelin, the rich and greedy live like kings and queens while the poor and sick scavenge rubbish tips for scraps. A lame orphan boy tells the classic tale of how a plague of rats takes over the town and how a fantastic piper offers to rid Hamelin of its rats for a single gold coin, then lures away the town’s children when the greedy mayor breaks his word.

Masterfully weaving contemporary social and environmental themes into a gripping tale, and celebrating it with breath-taking illustrations, former British Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo and illustrator Emma Chichester Clark team up to create a compelling new take on this timeless story.

Most of you will know of the story of ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’, the legend of a rat catcher from Hamelin, Germany, who lured the rats away from the village by using his magical flute, but when the towns mayor refused to pay him, he lured the children away from the village never to be seen again.

Over the years, the story has been told by many, including the Brothers Grimm. This is Michael Morpurgo’s take on the classic tale, with a few twists to the original story, and a more happier ending.

The tale is told from the point of view of the little injured boy from the original story. It starts with the background on the boy, and how he came to be injured, then to his take on what happened with the Pied Piper in the village.

The book is engaging and shows children that even in today’s society, not everything is fair, and not everyone is kind.

The plentiful illustrations throughout the book really bring the story to life. From rats running around the page, to full double page pictures, artist Emma Chichester Clark has really shown us how beautiful her artwork is.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a wonderful old-fashioned children’s story, brought right up to date, so that today’s children will love it just as much as previous generations.

Why not have a read of our reviews of Michael Morpurgo’s other books – ‘My Father is a Polar Bear‘ – ‘The Giant’s Necklace‘ and ‘Hansel and Gretel‘

Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera.

Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up ‘Farms for City Children’ with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals.

In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were awarded an MBE for services to youth. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

www.michaelmorpurgo.com
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