Barbara Bartos-Höppner (1923–2006)

I really enjoyed the tale of the Pied piper of Hamelin. I think a group of young students would have enjoyed it as well. There seemed to be more dialogue in this particular folk lore book out of all of the ones I had read, and I think it would be a great aspect to bring up to students. Bringing up the style of writing and the fact that the dialogue is always in quotes would be a good thing for young students. I think the tale is interesting because it tells the story of the Pied Piper getting rid of all of the rats in the town, but isn't paid for his work. Because of this, the pied piper leads all the children in the same way that he lead the rats away from the town.

I actually thought that I might struggle with this a little at first because I wasn't sure how the students would react to the fact that he took them all away from their parents, but I think you could turn it around and teach them about how not to talk to strangers, and so on.… (more)

Originally published as Der Rattenfänger von Hameln, Barbara Bartos-Höppner's retelling of the legend of the lost children of Hamelin is one of five versions of this story in my personal library, and the only one produced by a German. The prose narrative, ably translated by the indefatigable Anthea Bell, has a more ambiguous conclusion than that usually supplied by English-language editions, which often take Robert Browning's famous poem as their inspiration.

The colorful illustrations by Annegert Fuchshuber have a mysterious, almost hypnotic quality, particularly in those scenes in which the piper is heading away from the viewer. The compelling sense of motion in these paintings, of being pulled in a particular direction, is quite appropriate to the tale, and a testament to the artist's skill. Although not my favorite retelling of this story - an honor split between Sara and Stephen Corrin's retelling and that of Robert Holden - this edition has great appeal, and is well worth the time and attention of any reader interested in the tale of the mysterious piper and his fateful revenge.… (more)