Prompted by a recent discussion in the Children's Books group I moderate on another site, I have been taking down the various picture-book adaptations of the legend of The Pied Piper of Hamelin in my collection, and rereading them. I began, naturally enough, with a title that took Robert Browning's classic poem as its text, and realized that it was the story which captured my imagination, not the poem.

Sara and Stephen Corrin's prose retelling, paired with Errol le Cain's marvelous illustrations, is much more to my taste, and is fairly evenly tied with the Robert Holden/Drahos Zak version as my favorite. The tale of the foolish mayor and citizens of Hamelin (Hameln), who refuse to keep their word to the mysterious Piper who rids their city of a plague of rats, it has an almost biblical quality that makes for a most memorable story.

The Corrin's narrative flows well and is engaging. Le Cain's artwork, which has always reminded me of some of the great Golden Age illustrators, has a stylized medieval aesthetic; reddish, earthy tones which suit the tale; and numerous expressive details, especially in the many faces. Well worth the time of any reader interested in this story! ( )