The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales, #1) by Russell Brand

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales, #1) Reviews

• 
  Betsy

  If there is a trend to be spotted amongst the celebrity children’s books being released these days then I think it boils down to a general perception on their part that books for kids aren’t subversive enough. This is a bit of a change of pace from the days when Madonna would go about claiming there weren’t any good books for kids out there. Celebrities are a bit savvier on that count, possibly because the sheer number of books they publish has leapt with every passing year. Now their focus has changed. Where once they pooh-poohed the classics, now they’re under the impression that in spite of masters like Shel Silverstein, Jon Scieszka, Tomi Ungerer, and the like, books for kids are just a little too sweet. Time to shake things up a bit. At least that’s the only reason I can think of to justify what Russell Brand has done here. When I heard that he had a new series out called Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales I admit that I was intrigued. Tricksters! What’s not to love there? Plus the man has talent and imagination. This kind of thing would really work. Add in the art of Chris Riddell and you might have something clever and worth reading on your shelf. I probably could have continued thinking in this manner if I hadn’t made the mistake of going so far as to actually read the book. Oh me oh my oh me oh my. In this, the first book in his series, Brand goes headlong in the wrong direction. Needlessly violent, humorlessly scatological, with really weird messages about disability and feminism thrown in for no particular reason, you can say lots of things about Brand’s foray in to the world of children. One thing you cannot say is that it’s actually for kids.
  
  You think you know the story of The Pied Piper? Think again. In the town of Hamelin, the children are the future. Which is to say, the pretty children are the future. Kids like Sam, a child born with a withered leg, are ostracized and have to avoid being chased by the other kids’ zombie roadkill robots and such. The adults are little better with their misspent love of physical perfection and money. To this sordid town comes a hoard of nasty rats, each worse than the last and within a short amount of time they take over everything. As you might imagine, when a mysterious Piper arrives offering to do away with the hoard the townspeople agree immediately. He does but when he comes for his payment the town turns on him, rejecting his price. In response he takes away the kids, all but Sam, who is allowed to stay because he’s a different kind of kid. A good one.
  
  Before any specific objections can be lobbed in the book’s general direction, I think the important thing to note from the start is that this isn’t actually a book for kids. It’s not published by a children’s book publisher (Atria Books is a division of Simon & Schuster, and does not generally do books for kids). Its author is not a children’s book author. And the writing is clearly for adults. When I read the review in Kirkus of this book I saw that it called it, “A smart, funny, iconoclastic take on an old classic,” and recommended it for kids between the ages of 8-12. Now look here. I like books that use high vocabularies and complex wordplay for children. You betcha. I also like subversive literature and titles that push the envelope. That’s not what this book is. In this book, Brand is basically just throwing out whatever comes to mind, hoping that it’ll stick. Here’s a description of the leader of the rats: “Even though they called themselves an anarcho-egalitarian rat collective (that means there’s no rules and no one’s in charge), in reality Casper was in charge . . . In his constant attendance were a pair of ratty twins – Gianna and Paul – who were both his wives. In anarcho-egalitarian rat-collectives, polygamy (more than one wife) is common. It’s not as common for one of the wives to be male but these rats were real badasses.” It’s not just the content but the tone of this. Brand is speaking directly to an adult audience. He does not appear to care one jot about children.
  
  Of course when Brand decides to remember that he is writing a children’s book, that’s when he makes the story all about poop. Huge heaping helpfuls of it. There’s a desperation to his use of it, as if he doesn’t trust that a story about disgusting rats infesting a town is going to be interesting to kids unless it's drowning in excrement as well. Now poop, when done well, is freakin’ hilarious. Whether we’re talking about
  Captain Underpants or
  The Qwikpick Adventure Society, poop rules. But as the authors of those books knew all too well, a little goes a long way. Fill your book with too much poop and it’s like writing a book filled with profanity. After very little time the shock of it just goes away and you’re left feeling a bit bored.
  
  Other reasons that this ain’t a book for kids? Well, there’s the Mayor for one. Brand attempts to curtail criticism of his view of this woman by creating a fellow by the name of Sexist Bob. See, kids? Bob is sexist so obviously Brand can’t be. Not even when he has the Mayor crying every other minute, being described as a spinster who was mayor “a high-status job that made her feel better about her knees and lack of husband.” Then there’s the world’s weirdest message about disability. Our hero is Sam, the sole child left in the city of Hamelin after the children are whisked away. He’s the one described as having a “gammy leg all withered like a sparrow’s”. Which is fine and all, but once you get to the story’s end you find that Sam gets to have a happy ending where he’s grows up to become Hamelin’s mayor and his disability is pretty much just reduced a slight limp. So if you’re a good person, kiddos, that nasty physical problem you suffered from will go away. Better be good then. Sheesh.
  
  Now Chris Riddell’s a funny case here. He’s a great artist, first and foremost. Always has been. Though I feel like he’s never been properly appreciated here in America, every book he’s done he puts his all into. Riddell doesn’t phone it in. So when he commits to a book like The Pied Piper then he commits, by gum. For better or for worse. Honestly, Brand must have thought he died and went to heaven when they handed him an artist willing to not only portray drops of blood dripping from a child’s pierced nipple but robot gore-dripping animal corpses and sheer amounts of poo. In this book he really got into his work and I began to wonder how much of a direct hand Brand had. Did Brand tell Riddell to make the Piper look like a member of the film version of
  A Clockwork Orange? No idea. Whatever the case, Riddell is as much to blame for some aspects of the book (the Mayor’s mascara comes to mind) as Brand, but he also is able to put in little moments of actual emotion. There’s a shot of Sam hugged by his mother early in the book that’s far and away one of the most touching little images you ever will see. Just the sweetest thing. Like a little light bobbing in the darkness.
  
  The kicker is that beneath the lamentably long page count and gross-out factors, there might have been a book worth reading here. Playing the old “blame the editor” game is never fair, though. Editors of celebrity children’s books are, by and large, consigned there because they performed some act of carnage in a previous life and must now pay penance. No one goes into the business saying to themselves, “But what I’d really like to do is edit a picture book by Howard Stern’s wife about a fat white cat.” And so we cannot know how much input the editor of this book was allowed to give. Perhaps Brand took every note he was handed and hammered and sawed this book into its current state. Or maybe he was never handed a single suggestion and what he handed in is what we see here. No idea. But it’s difficult not to read the book and wonder at what might have been.
  
  It’s more ambitious than your average celebrity children’s book, I’ll grant you that. And yet it feels like nothing so much as a mash-up of Roald Dahl and Andy Griffiths for adults. Lacking is the kid-appeal, the tight editing, and the reason why we the readers should really care. Our hero Sam is the hero because he’s essentially passive and doesn’t much act or react to the events going on in the tale. The Piper is there to teach a town a lesson, does so, and the story’s over. Brand would rather luxuriate in nasty kids, adults, and rats then take all that much time with his rare decent characters. As a result, it’s a book that might have been quite interesting and could even have been for actual children but in the end, isn’t. Here’s hoping Mr. Brand’s future forays in storytelling don’t forget who the true audience really is.
• 
  Sarah Churchill

  Ok, two things we need to get straight before we start; this is NOT for children and it's not going to be to everyone's taste.
  
  Brand is essentially telling a tale to ya/adults AS IF they're children. And I wholly believe that was the purpose.
  
  We're told the age-old tale of the Pied Piper, with a huge dose of social commentary. Sexism, elitism, greed, bullying, sexuality, prejudice against disability, the homeless and anyone who dresses differently AND some digs at the rich and the recession, all squished into a 136 page picture book. That's a lot of opinion. That's Russell Brand.
  
  Plus there's more than enough (much more) toilet humour for any person over the age of five.
  
  Oh, and Riddell is still an illustrating god.
• 
  Reetta Saine

  Jos Chris Riddell tulisi Suomeen, menisin makuupussissa hotellin eteen, lahjoisin itseni sisään, piiloutuisin sen huoneeseen, odottaisin yötä, hiipisin sängyn viereen, tarjoaisin skumppaa ja valmiiksi lasketun porekylvyn ja pyytäisin sitä piirtämään Pillipiiparin. Ei ole sen hottiksempaa nuortenkirjallisuudessa ollut eikä tule!
  
  Ai niin, se arvostelu. Mahtava. On jakanut lukijoita kuin viikate viljapeltoa, mutta mut saa pistää fanien joukkoon! Satumodaukset on kyllä onnistuessaan ihan parhautta!
• 
  Gabrielle

  RUSSELL BRAND SHOULD READ EVERY AUDIOBOOK EVER.
  This should have been more popular than it is because it is honestly perfect. I can not fault this book at all. It has the perfect about of kid/bum jokes and adult humour and trite satirical commentary.
  Amazing book, amazing audiobook.
  All around the best. yes.
• 
  Melissa Chung

  This book was incredibly silly. Full of toilet humor and other words that kids like to laugh at like the word fart, and boogies. My favorite two words were bum custard. It's totally gross and I laughed out loud. I gave this re-telling of the Pied Piper 3.5 stars.
  
  The illustrations by Chris Riddell were the best. Loved all the bright colors. The story was good too in a silly and gross way. If you have read or heard about the Pied Piper this book has the essence of that fairy tale or legend. The pied piper does come to town to take care of the rats and in turn leaves with all the towns children. But of course it's Russell Brand so it's weird and gross with a positive message at the end.
  
  "...if you go to Hamelin now, you'll find a very peaceful town, pretty but not fussy. Strangers are always welcome and people of all shapes and colours are accepted and loved."
  
  I will definitely pick up the second book in this series if anything to see more illustrations by Chris Riddell and...yes toilet humor to me is still pretty funny ;)
  
  
• 
  Aya

  4.5 ⭐️ Reviewnya bisa ditonton di video November Wrap Up ini
  https://youtu.be/ReDmB00wQq4
• 
  Markku Kesti

  Painokoneet seis! Vuoden paras kirja on tässä. Hassua sdinänsä, että kyseessä Hamelnin pillipiipari, joka on saksalainen kansansatu salaperäisestä miehestä, joka karkotti rotat Hamelnin kaupungista vuonna 1284. Vuosi piti tarkistaa Wikipediasta. Mutta Russell Brandin tähän päivään päivitetty teksti ja Chris Riddellin kuvitus saivat hihittelemään hölmösti kakkavitseille ja poliittisille epäkorrektiuksille. Hamelnin asukkaat olivat kuin Sipilän SSS-hallituksen koko kaunistelematon kuva. Tästä ei pienten lasten kirjaa saa kyllä tekemälläkään. Sen verran vaikeaa kieltä, hankalia sanontoja ja väkivaltaa (unohtamatta sitä eritehuumoria!) Paras kohdeyleisö löytyisi varmaan yläkouluista ja lukioista. Niin isoista lukijoista, että he ymmärtävät viittaukset tähän päivään, politiikkaan ja ihmisluontoon. Mainitsinko muuten jo kakkajutut? Eli jos eritteet eivät ole sinun juttusi, niin jätä tämä väliin. Suosittelen anarkistihenkisille, epäkorrektiuksista nauttiville ja muuten vain kieron huumorintajun omaaville Reett...anteeksi...ihmisille. Kuusi ja puoli tähteä.
• 
  Arja-täti

  Luinka koska Markku. Ja koska Markku niin ennakko-oletus oli. Ja ihan oikea. Jos olisi ollut väärä, olisi ollut huono ja yök kirja. Nyt tiesin, mitä odottaa. Olipas kiva. Hauska. Karmee. Siis yök. Ehdottomasti lähtee ainakin kokeilun about 5-7-luokkien vinkkauksiin. Katotaan vaan millon, koska just nyt pieni vinkkaustauko.
• 
  Fatima

  Really clever and witty. Great story. Kinda hilarious. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Too much toilet humour for my liking. But it’s so Russel Brand. If you don’t like his humour or whatever, you probably won’t like this book. It looks like a children’s book, but it definitely isn’t for children. It is basically the story of the Pied Piper with some adult opinions and social commentary thrown in. I really liked it. It jumped around a bit - it felt like pages were missing but that wasn’t the case. I really liked Sam but kinda wish there was more in the story about him. It was set up like he was going to save the day or something, and he didn’t. Not really. Overall though, 3.5 stars. Clever and fun and beautiful illustrations.
• 
  Tom Loock

  Let's see: I've come to appreciate
  Russell Brand lately, I think
  Chris Riddell is a good artist, the 'Pied Piper' was one of my favourite fairy tales when I was a kid and I have even been to Hamelin (or 'Hameln' as it's actually called).
  
  Good reasons for picking up
  The Pied Piper of Hamelin: Russell Brand's Trickster Tales, right?
  
  I wish I hadn't. The writing (which is not suitable for children, as even those who like this book agree) leaves a lot to be desired. Brand's additions to the tale are all wrong:
  - That whole poop thing stops being funny once you approach puberty.
  - The reduction of all celebrations to one annual vanity contest is not just boring (for the reader as well as for the citizens of Hamelin) but a giant mistake because the issue in the original is the contrast between the fake piety, honesty and decency of the so-called 'good citizens' on the one hand and their behaviour of betrayal of the exterminator/trickster on the other.
  - Introducing the character of Sam serves no purpose to the story other than to show that Brand is politically correct and the citizens are bad, including the children. In the original the children represent innocence and the 'shocker' at the time of publication was that these innocents were abducted.
  
  As for Chris Riddell: I don't read children's books these days, but I am familiar with his excellent work for the 'Edge Chronicles' and I like his work here, BUT ... if the hero has an underdeveloped thin leg it doesn't really help if Sam himself and several other characters have comically spindly legs in the first place and you can't see the disability, does it?
• 
  Joy

  I read this book because I like Chris Riddell's artwork and I often enjoy retellings of fables. The illustrations were good but, sadly, the retelling was not. A lot of it was rather ridiculous, the humour was puerile (I'm not against some jokes about poo but it was overdone) and the characters were two dimensional. The tone was patronising. Lots of unnecessary things were defined (and sometimes not entirely accurately), and a lot of the toilet humour seemed to be tacked on because the author thought it would appeal to the children. I was also uneasy about the underlying mysticism.
  
  If it wasn't for the fact that it was so short and for the illustrations, I would have given up.
• 
  Malissa

  I think actual kids will like this more than I did. It was entertaining and funny at points, but there are too many poop jokes for even me. But, as evidenced by Captain Underpants, kids love irreverent humor and so will probably be highly entertained. The piper himself looks and sounds a bit like Brand himself, but I suppose and author reserves the right to do things like that. Points for making big vocab words fun! Maybe that will eventually get it a high rank for things like AR and Lexile.
• 
  Federica

  Meravigliose come sempre le illustrazioni di Chris Riddell, che fanno durare la lettura più del dovuto tanto rimani incantato a guardarle... e potete immaginare quindi quanto mi costi lasciare solo tre stelline a un libro con dentro i suoi disegni! Ma questa volta non posso farne a meno, perchè per il resto... per il resto c'è troppa cacca. Letteralmente.
• 
  John of Canada

  One and a half stars for the writing,gross events and toilet humour.4 stars for the artwork.Chris Riddell is wonderful.Russell Brand is not wonderful.
• 
  Vilya R

  Vanhan sadun painajaismaiset uudet vaatteet.
  
  Russel Brand ja Chris Riddell tuovat vanhan tutun pillipiiparisadun ällöttävään uuteen muotoon ja nykyaikaan. Tarinan kaikki hahmot asuvat inhottavassa, maireassa pikkukaupungissa. Ajattelin ensin lukea tämän kuvakirjan lapseni kanssa, mutta kansien sisällä oli liian rajua kamaa ja pienempi lukija valitsi toisen kirjan. Luin tarinan loppuun yksin. Luulen, että tämä kirja toimii paremmin itse luettuna kuin jonkun muun ääneen lukemana. Vaikeat termit on selvitetty viitteinä ja lopusta löytyvässä “koijarisanastossa”, joiden lukeminen ääneen katkoo tarinan flow’ta.
  
  Mutta itse asiaan. Brand ja Riddell tosiaan ovat tehneet työtä käskettyä ja pillipiipari on muuttanut muotoaan. Tarina ja kerronta koettelevat sen rajoja, minkälainen kerronta on sallitua lastenkirjallisuudessa. Teoksen mainoksessa viitattiin itse lastenkirjallisuuden rajojarikkovaan mestariin Roald Dahliin, joten mainospuheiden takia ajattelin tämän kirjan olevan suunnattu myös lapsiyleisölle.
  
  Riddellin mestarillinen kädenjälki houkuttelee katsomaan tarkemminkin ja vie mennessään aina syvemmälle tarinan uumeniin. Kuvitus onkin ehdottomasti tämän teoksen valttikortti. Huikean kiehtovat, ja sekopäisellä tavalla omituiset ja painajaismaiset yksityiskohdat pitävät otteessaan.
  Tarinan pääosassa on koko luodun maailman nurinkurisuus ja päättömyys. Hulluttelut, outoudet ja ällötykset esittävät suurinta roolia ja tekijät tietävät, mikä huumori naurattaa pikkulapsista lähtien. Vai mitä itse tuumaatte Hamelnin hemaisevin kersa -kilpailusta tai maantien varren eläintenraadoista rakennettu mekaanisesta metszombiearmeijasta? Hamelnin pillipiiparissa käsitellään kipeitä aiheita, kuten kiusaamista ja ulkonäköpaineita, nurinkurisen huumorin keinoin. Kaiken tämän keskellä tarinan päähenkilö, itse pillipiipari jää jotenkin etäiseksi hahmoksi.
  
  Luin teoksen Tuomas Nevanlinnan suomentamana. Suomennoksen kieli oli nerokasta, värikästä ja soljuvaa.
  
  (Arvostelu julkaistu Nörttityttöjen blogissa:
  
  http://geekgirls.fi/wp/blog/2017/06/0...)
• 
  Lostaccount

  If Brand or the publishers of this complete rubbish think it's a kid's book then they're off their nuts.
  It's total proselytising rubbish. No Brand you are not Orwell, this is not Animal Farm, and it's all too easy too see through this silly nonsense to the virtue signalling crap that it is. Loaded with an egregious agenda.
  I doubt this will brainwash many kids as they hope, because it's just too obvious. And page 8, Brand jumping on the anti white bandwagon too. Shame on you.
  The publishers must be desperate
  They have no integrity that's for sure.
  Shelved under "books to wipe your arse with".
• 
  Melanie

  Loved this short but entertaining fairytale of sorts! It reads like you're watching a Russell Brand interview - fast paced and no full stops lol A great overall message, lots of British slang but there's a glossary to help ya out! Quick and entertaining read, loved the illustrations and there's a rat attack
• 
  Joanne

  Originally posted on
  Once Upon a Bookcase.
  
  
  
  I have admired the hardback of The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Russell Brand, illustrated by Chris Riddell from afar for quite a while. Having read and loved
  The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, another fairy tale retelling that Riddell illustrated, I was really intrigued to see what he would do with this interpretation, too. However, I must admit, that I wasn't sure how seriously Brand would take retelling a fairy tale, so I've always been a bit wary. But my desire to see Riddell's illustrations won out when I was offered a review copy of the paperback from Canongate books.
  
  
  
  
  As this is a retelling of a well known fairy tale, I'm not going to summarise the story: we all know the general premise. I have to say I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! Brand has written this comedic retelling how he speaks, with intelligence but with his unique turn of phrase. Fans of Brand are going to love this for his wonderful way with words, and what's brilliant is that he hasn't dumbed himself down for this children's book. There are "big" words and slang terms throughout, but each new word a child reading might not understand is defined on the page, and there's a glossary at the back, too.
  
  
  
  
  The fairy tale is written with Brand's usual humour, but also including jokes, like toilet humour, children will also find funny - and it will be no surprise to anyone that Brand easily blends the two. With The Pied Piper of Hamelin, he's created a brilliantly funny take on a classic story that will amuse adults and children alike.
  
  
  
  
  Despite the fact that adults will enjoy this too, it's definitely a children's book. Considering this, what's brilliant is Brand's moral additions to this story. As well as the general snobby attitude the Hamelinians have, Brand has included Sexist Dave, who has some awful opinions, and Brand makes it quite clear this behaviour is not acceptable. The book also includes phrases like, "what matters are invisible things like truth, love and honour," "all children are perfect," "important prizes can't be won by individuals, only by us all," and "you should always want to know more" - all wonderful ideas to instill in children.
  
  
  
  
  And look at those gorgeous illustrations! Riddell can easily create beauty, but he also has such a knack for the grotesque. This is a book of art as well as a brilliant story, and one to be admired for the artwork as well as read for the humour. Brand and Riddell make the perfect partnership, as Brand's storytelling and descriptions give Riddell so much to work with to show off his unique style.
  This is the first in Brand's Trickster Tales, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he writes next in the series - and I really hope Riddell will illustrate the future tales, too!
  
  Thank you to Cannongate Books for the review copy.
  
• 
  Heidi

  Luimme tämän kirjan yhdessä lasteni kanssa (tyttö 8 vuotta ja poika 6 vuotta.)
  
  Odotin tältä kirjalta melkoisen suuria, kun tämän luvattiin rikkovan lastenkirjallisuuden rajoja Roald Dahlin tyyliin. Äkkiseltään katsottuna kirjan kuvitukset herättivät niin lasten kuin minunkin kiinnostukseni, ovat ne sen verran ratkiriemukkaan irvokkaita.
  
  En oikein osaa sanoa, mitä mieltä kirjan juonesta olen, sillä se on välillä melko sekamelskainen ja omituinen. Tarinahan on kirjoitettu uusiksi samannimisestä saksalaisesta kansansadusta, jonka ovat tehneet tunnetuimmaksi Grimmin veljekset. Minulle tämä tarina rottien valtaamasta kaupungista on ennestään tuntematon. Tarinan sekaan on ujutettu paljon erikoisia sanoja ja niiden selityksiä. Ajattelin, josko lapset jaksavat kuunnella sanojen selityksiä tarinan lomassa ja lopussa, mutta toisin kävi. Pojan mielestä oli kivaa, kun sanoihin oli annettu selityksiä ja tytön mielestä monet sanat olivat ennestään tuttuja. Onkin hienoa, että lastenkirjasta voi oppia uusia, ei niin lastenkirjalle tavanomaisia sanoja, kuten kalabaliikki, ahava, haaskio, rahtu ja pompöösi.
  
  Pillipiipari on kuvattu kirjassa melkoiseksi kummajaiseksi, eikä hän oikein kylmän viileällä olemuksellaan miellyttänyt tyttöä. Hänestä kirjan paras kohta on rottien hyökkäys kaupunkiin - ja pillipiiparin lähtö. Poika taas tykkäsi tuosta erikoisesta pillipiiparista, koska hän soitteli pillillään. Minusta hän näyttää kuvissa aika kammottavalta tyypiltä, joka aiheuttaa väristyksiä selkäpiissäni.
  
  Kaiken kaikkiaan pahisrotat näyttivät miellyttävän lapsiani eniten, eivätkä he oikein välittäneet muista Hamelnin törkeästi käyttäytyvistä asukkaista - poikkeuksen teki raajarikko, muista syrjäytynyt Sami-poika, joka säästyy kirjan lopussa pillipiiparin julmalta kostolta.
  
  Hamelnin asukkaat ovat kyllä melkoisen huonokäytöksisiä, ja tuntuu, että heidän hahmojen kehittelyssä on vedetty överin överiksi. On suursyömäri Pulla-Pena, hemaiseva Kerttu, seksisti-Reiska... Rotat, jotka rikkovat kaiken tielleen osuvan ja kakkivat joka suuntaan vievät kuitenkin varastavat kuitenkin koko shown. Heidän johtajansa Kasper elää polygamiassa kahden vaimonsa kanssa, joista toinen on kaiken lisäksi mies. On hienoa, että tällaisia perinteisten rajojen rikkomista on lastenkirjassa, eivätkä lapseni edes juuri hätkähtäneet tätä.
  
  Chris Riddellin kuvitus on kyllä huikean hieno ja kaikin puolin kirjan lukeminen ja katseleminen on visuaalisesti miellyttävää. Pidän myös siitä, miten kertojaääni ottaa välillä lapset mukaan tarinaan kysymyksillä. Vaikka onhan kirja todella överi - mihin Brand on tähdännytkin - on se hyvin viihdyttävä, hämmentävä, omituinen ja hauska tarina kokonaisuudessaan.
  
• 
  Adele Broadbent

  Didn’t like the story as it seemed to skip between a story for children to a story for teens. It was as if he couldn’t decide what was his target market so he tried to cover everyone. I think this was another example of a celebrity who editors were too scared or told not to - edit!
  
  BUT - The illustrations are fantastic!
  
• 
  Haele

  Olipa mahtis kirja! Ja hetkinen meni tajuta, että sadun oli tosiaan uudelleen kirjoitellut Russel Brand! Vaikka siis siinähän se seisoo kirjan kannessa, että näin on.
  Englanti kuulsi kielessä läpi, mikä on ikävää ja siksipä olisi kirja mielestäni toiminut paljon paremmin alkuperäiskielellä.
  Hienoja syvällisiä mietteitä ripoteltu sinne tänne, me likey! Siksi neljä tähteä.
• 
  Jennifer Girard

  It was such a pain to read! I used to be a huge Russell Brand fan and I have almost all his books but this one was basically copying the narration style of the series of unfortunate events (which I love!) but it was not as good. The art style was ok ... the story was a mess. Maybe kids like it but I didn't!
• 
  Brynna Schiller

  I struggled to give this a rating because it was absolutely not suited to children & I had unfortunately picked it up for my kid... from the children's section. :(
  There were few moments where I thought it might be ok but then it would plunge deeper into the fetid gutter. Thankfully I read with my kids because I was able to toss it out before we sunk too far into its stink.
• 
  Emily

  This is a picture book for adults, which is just awesome! If anyone looks at this as a children's picture book you will think it is crude and inappropriate, but it is not. It allows adults to be kids again without it being so kiddy.
• 
  Sophie

  Not too impressed by this. It's obvious with its agenda and I just didn't feel anything for it. Two of the three stars I gave it are for Chris Riddell's wonderful, as always, illustrations.
  
  Full review to come.
• 
  Lucie Miller

  Loved it. Illustrations are amazing. Read in my mind in Russell Brand's voice. Funny and subversive. Lots of poo jokes.
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  Hanna Huovinen

  Väkinäinen poliittinen sanoma ja omaan makuuni turhan paljon ulostevitsejä. Chris Riddellin kuvituksesta ja androgyynistä glampiiparista tykkäsin.
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  elsewhere

  I think that the illustrations in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Russell Brand and Chris Riddell (Illustrator) were good; the illustrations were colorful and vibrant. I had appreciated how the story had a main character who had a physical disability, since it is always important to write about all kinds of children (people, in general) in stories - to let them know that they are seen and that they are important, too. I had also liked how the book tackled sexism, and since this was a children's book, it made the gesture of talking about persons with disabilities and calling out sexism more important.
  
  On the other hand, I really felt that the plot was all over the place. One moment, I was expecting to read more about bullying, diversity, discrimination, and persons with disabilities. But suddenly, the story involved rats, disorders, and riots (which served as the problem that needed to be resolved). And then, the resolution arrived - the Pied Piper, which was another wrong turn for me, since these three - the main character who has physically disability, the invasion of rats, and the pied pier - could be told in three different stories. Instead, these three were merged into one story which did not really make any sense for me.
  
  My other issue would be the use of vocabulary in the book. It would be nice to encounter some new big words every now and then, but the explanation of almost every vocabulary word being included in the story-telling itself was redundant. Perhaps it would had been better if the story did not contain a mountain of vocabularies, since the audience of this book was meant to be children, too (even if it had a list of vocabulary words at the end of the book). A few big words would be okay, just not this much (referring to the number of vocabulary words mentioned in this book).
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  Edmund Kevin

  3.5 stars rounded up for the beautiful illustration by Chris Riddell
  
  This book is full of toilet humor and yucky description but I kind of enjoy it. It was a quick read since the words are few and the pictures are everywhere.
  
  The story is of course familiar with the one you read or heard as a child (I never heard the story as a child but familiar with it by mouth) but with a little different characters and details. The ending is kinda the same but with only one child stay in the village or town.
  
  I love the book physically, I think the cover is cute and gorgeous because of the debossed texture and great color palette. The binding is okay and the papers are fancy paper.
  
  Though I still enjoy the read, I think the words could be longer and the story (especially the ending) should be different with a new twist. Aside from the way this was written (for older audience presumably adults), what is the point of writing the same stories without distinguishable difference in plot from the predecessors? But all in all it's still a fun book.