Rats The Story Of The Pied Piper

RATS! The town of Hamelin is overrun with them and the citizens are in a tizzy-until the mysterious Pied Piper appears, offering to solve their dilemma for a small fee. Dave and Jean Perry tell the story like never before in this fast-paced, 35-minute musical setting. The characters are charming, the dialog is witty, the songs are clever and fun to sing, and the fully-orchestrated SoundTrax CD is spectacular!

Through a bold palette, the legend of the Pied Piper is enlivened artfully reminding children to keep their promises.

With this first book in Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales series, the famed comedian, actor, and bestselling author delivers a hilarious retelling of an old fairytale favorite that will appeal to adults and children alike. Once upon a time, long ago, in a time that seemed, to those present, exactly like now except their teeth weren’t so clean and more things were wooden, there was a town called Hamelin. The people of Hamelin were a pompous bunch who loved themselves and their town so much that if it were possible they would have spent all day zipped up in a space suit smelling their own farts. But space suits hadn’t been invented yet so they couldn’t. Then one day without warning a gang of rats bowled into the town and began causing a right rumpus… So begins Russell Brand’s wildly funny and surprisingly wise retelling of the classic tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Whether you’re a kid or a grown-up kid, you’ll be chuckling the whole way through this zany story that bypasses Brand’s more adult humor for the outrageous, the madcap, and the just plain silly. Maybe you’ve heard about the Pied Piper before, with his strange music and those pompous townspeople and pesky rats. Or maybe you haven’t. But one thing is for sure: you’ve never heard it quite like this.

The Pied Piper pipes the village free of rats, and when the villagers refuse to pay him for the service he exacts a terrible revenge.

A father and son team brings to life the hazy legend of the pied piper in a book that deals with the struggle between mercy and justice.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin - A Child's Story. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to the Middle Ages, the earliest references describing a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, who was a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizens refuse to pay for this service, he retaliates by using his instrument's magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore and has appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, and Robert Browning, among others.

"In that scented, touch-filled Pipeworld, where notes speak clear as words, where connections are thick and countless, I felt the chaining up and circling together of other traces in my head. And as the Pipe amplified all sounds and souls, including mine, I heard my mind echoing: the mission is dead- No rat-kill, no reward, no liberation. No home, no Hofmanns, no Klara- It was all an illusion." The Rats of Hamelin blends history and fantasy to reshape the hazy legend of the pied piper. After six years as a piper's apprentice, Hannes sets out on the mission that will make him a master in the guild. His orders seem simple enough: rid Hamelin of a plague of rats and use the reward money for a charitable cause. Simple indeed, until he discovers that the real rats of Hamelin aren't the ones scurrying underfoot. Unsure who to count among his friends- the mayor's beautiful daughter, generous businessman, a precocious little girl? Hannes struggles against deadly enemies and thoughtless allies. Every step he takes comes down to a deceptively simple choice: when to show mercy and when to bring justice. Readers will be thrilled with this first novel by Adam and Keith McCune. This father-son team bring a wealth of linguistic and literary knowledge to bear on their retelling of the famous Pied Piper fairy tale. The story naturally lends itself to reflection on the themes of law and mercy, as well as the sometimes-complex nature of the relationship between fathers and sons.

RATS! The town of Hamelin is overrun with them and the citizens are in a tizzy-until the mysterious Pied Piper appears, offering to solve their dilemma for a small fee. Dave and Jean Perry tell the story like never before in this fast-paced, 35-minute musical setting. The characters are charming, the dialog is witty, the songs are clever and fun to sing, and the fully-orchestrated SoundTrax CD is spectacular! Recommended for grades 3 and up.