After Hamelin

After Hamelin might be marketed as children's lit, but that demeans it. The characters are real and alive. Even the cat. How many authors have tried to make an animal into a character and failed? But Scallywaggle is a full-fledged character. And who ever thought of a flower-arranging dragon? I'm still working on my re-read, so some of the details that I have aren't great. Though I hate the children's sections, I love fairy tales, and wish everyone would remember C.S. Lewis's dedication of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Children's lit is often an incompetent author trying to sell to kids who don't care about quality. After Hamelin, though, should go to the fairy tale section. I hate Disney retellings: they make fairy tales cheap and simplistic happily-ever-afters. Richardson knows his story of the Pied Piper well, and does with it exactly what everyone should do with fairy tales: he takes it, adds some stuff, changes some characters, adds events, and puts in beautifully handled prose. He reinvents the story for a more modern reader, and makes it more accessible. Penelope isn't "charming" in the sense that she isn't the sweet, adorable little girl, nor is she the tomboyish one who defies the rules. There's no title on the list of character cliches to fit her, or any characters in this book. They're all their own selfs, and that's what makes this book stand above the masses of fairy-tale takeoffs that plague book stores. There's not much else to say. I read this first when I was 10, and now at 14, and will keep reading it throughout my life. Read this book, and remember, above all things, one: we are never too old for fairy tales, and fairy tales aren't for children alone. I'll spare the rant on that here, but read After Hamelin, regardless of your age, and rediscover the fact that we all have dreams and goals, and that no matter how fantastical they are, they are true.

In this woderfully weaved tale of a girl, Penelope who is 101 years recalls upon her childhood adventure in saving the children of Hamelin. Once you read this book you will want to know more and more until the book ends. But imagination doesn't only end at the last pages for some. Many may want to make a tale of their own. Penelope recalls in extraordinary detail and Bill Richardson has done a wonderful job of making the pipers music in this book turn you eyes to look at the story. The cover speaks alot itself and one look can tell you the meaning " a picture is worth a thousand words." You may get annoyed with the repeating parts where she always says she's 101, but other than that its a good story.Penelope is a skipper. Not any ordinary skipper, she's a skipping harpers daughter. Ever since she was little there has always had music in her life. Then on the day of her elevening, she goes deaf. The same day the piper comes to pipe away the children with his magical net of music from his pipe. All children but two. Alloway, a blind apprentice who stays with Govan, Penelope's father and of course our heroine, Penelope. To save the children of Hamelin she must go to a world both seen and unseen. Where anything can happen, into a land of dreaming. The stakes are high and in this dream world you just can't wish yourself away from danger.With a wacky group of companions she embarks on her journey... the rest is for you to find out...

As a child who read every book on myths, fairy tales, fantasy stories, etc. that I could get my hands on, I always wondered about the story of the Pied Piper. I remember the one old movie where it shows the mountains parting, and the Piper taking the children into the mountain. Inside there was some type of wonderful land for the children that catered to their every whim (from what we could see). As the mountain closed, a young boy who was crippled and hobbled on a stick, came hurrying up, just missing a chance to go into this 'land'. I always felt sorry for that young man because I identified with him. Part of the reason I read fairy tales was to get away from my real world, the world in which I am deaf and was required to go to public schools in California in the 1960's and 70's, where no one wanted me: not the administrations, not the teachers and certainly not the kids. My home was my safe place, and my books were my television since I could not hear the cartoons or shows and they were not captioned at that time.I also felt extremely sorry for the parents, losing all their children that way, because of the dishonesty of the politicians (as per usual). How great of Richardson to finish the story off for us, and this is one of those books you are thinking "I wish I had thought of that!"This book is an incredible read. Well written, thoughtful, it's almost too good for small children, but I could see reading this book to them after reading about the Pied Piper. As a parent reads, they could explain thing and answer questions. But really this book is for old kids, the 'tween' group who are not quite ready for the teenagers currently available kind-of-... reading out there. It's also a great fantasy book. It totally turned on its head my previous conceptions of dragons...like the assumptions we make about other people and other cultures, Richardson's dragon skips rope and faints at the slightest thing. The protagonist, Penelope, I could readily identify with. At eleven she loses her hearing, and she and her parents are devastated. But like the wise old man of Hamelin (there is always a wise old man or woman in these stories) said, nothing ever happens except for a reason. We may not always agree with the need for the bad things to happen, we may not always understand why they happen, but often the reason for our problems becomes clearer as we live life and experience it. This is an excellent book to illustrate that concept to children, teenagers, and adults. I never understood 'why' I had to be deaf, 'why' I went to a regular school instead of a residential school, 'why' I had to deal with prejudices and barriers...and now, I am a disability rights advocate and I work to protect those with disabilities in education and health through my bioethics/disability groups. So see...the stories often come true, or have a realistic bent to their parables...And best of all, that nasty Pied Piper got what was coming to him!Karen Sadler,Science Education,Unive

Did you ever wonder what happened to the children lead away from Hamelin by the Pied Pier's magic flute? Well, Bill Richardson did, and we should be thankful. After Hamelin, his solution to the Piper mystery, features a girl named Penelope who is one of only two children whom escape the Piper's enchantment. Interestingly, the two were each protected by a disability: Penelope by her mysterious deafness, which came on the night before the Piper's fateful return, and the other child by blindness which left him lost in the forest after the Piper's music finally faded away. Penelope's task is to follow the dastardly Piper into the fantasy realm of Deep Dreaming. Her companions along the way include her talking cat, a rope-jumping dragon named Quenten, and a ski-footed, singing Trolavian bird-creature named Belle. Will Penelope and her friends overcome the magic powers of the Piper and free the children of Hamelin? Of course they will, but there are many adventures, twists, turns and surprises along the way. My nine year-old son said, "Great!" and my six year-old daughter said, "Fantastic!" and I, compulsively concerned about nourishing their young minds, thought: I love for them to hear the English language applied with such unique style and wit. An added bonus: Penelope is a champion rope skipper and there are countless skipping rhymes scattered throughout the book. Children who hear or read this story will be reaching for their skipping ropes with new enthusiasm. I want to make two cautionary notes about this story: First, the very endearing character, Belle, dies a heroic death that may disturb sensitive children (I had to edit that part for my six year old). Secondly, the story makes frequent leaps between Penelope, 101 years of age and Penelope, 11 years of age, which will confuse younger listeners who are not accustomed to following convoluted storylines and subplots. Other than that, After Hamelin is a terrific book to pass along to a friend, be they adult or child.

Did you ever wonder what happened to the children lead away from Hamelin by the Pied Pier's magic flute? Well, Bill Richardson did, and we should be thankful. After Hamelin, his solution to the Piper mystery, stars a girl named Penelope, one of only two children who escape the Piper's enchantment. Interestingly, the two are each protected by their disabilities: Penelope by her mysterious deafness, which strikes the night before the Piper's fateful return, and the other child by blindness which leaves him lost in the forest after the Piper's music finally fades away. Penelope's task is to follow the dastardly Piper into the fantasy realm of Deep Dreaming. Her companions along the way include her talking cat, a rope-jumping dragon named Quenten and a ski-footed, singing Trolavian bird-creature named Belle. Will Penelope and her friends overcome the magic powers of the Piper and free the children of Hamelin? Of course they will, but there are many adventures, twists, turns and surprises along the way. My nine year-old son said, "Great!" and my six year-old daughter said, "Fantastic!" and I, forever anxious about nourishing their young minds, was grateful to a writer who applies the English language with unique style and wit. An added bonus: Penelope is a champion rope skipper and there are countless skipping rhymes scattered throughout the book. Children who hear or read this story will be reaching for their skipping ropes with new enthusiasm. I want to make two cautionary notes about this story: First, the very endearing character, Belle, dies a heroic death that may disturb sensitive children (I had to edit that part for my six year old). Secondly, the story makes frequent leaps between Penelope, 101 years of age and Penelope, 11 years of age, which will confuse younger listeners who are not accustomed to following convoluted storylines and subplots. Other than that, After Hamelin is a terrific book to pass along to a friend, be they adult or child.