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Summary
Summary
Peterkin, a colorful elf, brings music and hope everywhere he goes with the aid of his magic pipe. It gives him the power to call any animal to him, and even to transform one creature into another. This is just what the evil Grand Duke needs to rid his village of its never-ending rats. But when Peter turns the rats into stars, the Grand Duke is still as mean as ever. Discover the pipe's true magic as our hero uses it to inspire and save the whole village.
Steven Kellogg's clever new take on The Pied Piper of Hamelin is friendly, whimsical, and full of surprise.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This peppy new rendition bears little resemblance to the original legend. The story focuses on Peterkin, a happy elf who stumbles upon a gloomy retired witch named Elbavol. His attempts to cheer her fail, but she sends him off with a magic pipe, which plays the sound of letters. Spelling a word calls it forth, and reversing the letters changes it into something else. So when Peterkin comes to a city plagued by rats and run by a cruel Grand Duke, he uses his pipe to call up the rats and then changes them into stars. However, he still must claim his reward from the Duke. Clever readers may guess the mystery behind Elbavol's name before Peterkin does. This story does not have the haunting, thought-provoking qualities of the legend, nor is it very scary-even the rats are cute. Bright cartoon illustrations in sunshine yellows burst with colorful hearts, flowers, and rainbows except for in the contrasting dark, decrepit areas surrounding Elbavol. Children will enjoy this story without knowing the original tale, but to know only this version would be a shame.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Kellogg's lighthearted take on this classic tale centers on Peterkin, a kind elf who receives a magic pipe from a miserable witch named Elbavol. He discovers that the pipe plays letters rather than notes and conjures up animals, such as a deer, by playing their names ("He was so excited that he flipped over backward. The pipe responded by reversing the letters and singing R-E-E-D. The deer was instantly transformed into a reed"). Peterkin travels to a gloomy, rat-infested town, where he accepts the Grand Duke's challenge to rid the place of rodents. He uses the pipe to turn each of them into a star, overthrows the tyrannical duke, then revisits Elbavol to work some magic on her unhappy disposition. Kellogg depicts the magic-making in bright, buoyant mixed media spreads that show streams of colorful text and corresponding animals pouring from the mouth of the pipe (even the rats seem pretty amenable to being transformed into stars). Far sunnier than the original, this slightly educational adaptation (thanks to the built-in spelling lessons within) should please parents and kids alike. Ages 3-5. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
An amiable elf marches into an industrialized city where adults work long hours and children constantly sweep the rats away. With a newly acquired magical pipe, the elf is able to turn the rats into stars. Employing ink and pencil, watercolor and acrylics, Kellogg creates a gold-tinged, phantasmagorical city peopled with expressive characters of all ages. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Kellogg puts his touch to yet another classic. Going beyond the basic Pied Piper tale, the author weaves in the story of a downtrodden witch named Elbavol. After a kindness paid her by Peterkin the elf, she gifts him with a pipe. He quickly discovers its magic: The pipe plays the sounds of letters and, when used to spell words, makes those objects appear. Even better, when the words are played backwards, the objects transform accordingly. So, when faced with the rats of the (here unnamed) town, the Piper turns them all into starsuntil the Grand Duke reneges on his promised reward. In characteristic fashion, the author joins the two story lines of the Grand Duke and Elbavol, the transformative power of love ensuring that everyone lives happily ever after. His signature artwork's colors reflect the emotions of the characters, while the clever incorporation of the words spelled by the pipe makes it clear to even the youngest readers what happens when they are spelled backwards. No matter how it is spelled, this belongs on every library shelf. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Long ago and far away, a good-natured elf named Peterkin became a Pied Piper. He played the sounds of letters on a magic pipe given to him by a gloomy witch. When he played letters that spelled something, the item he spelled magically appeared. When he flipped over backward, the letters were reversed and the creature was transformed into that object hence deer became a reed. Peterkin came upon a dark city ruled by the evil Grand Duke and overrun by rats. Not only did Peterkin transform the rats to stars, he made the Grand Duke loveable and enabled the families in the city to transform their environment into a wonderful, welcoming paradise. Kellogg has taken a few elements of the Pied Piper of Hamelin; mixed in bright, sparkly, swirling illustrations in which even the rats are adorable; and whipped them into a happy-ever-after story that bears little resemblance to the original dark fairy tale.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2009 Booklist