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2002
finalists.

2002 Hackmatack

Children's Choice Book Award/Prix littéraire - le choix de jeunes

This engaging fantasy novel puts a dramatic new spin on a traditional folk tale. The town of Hamelin has plenty to celebrate - they have been freed of their plague of rats by a mysterious piper and life seems full of promise. However, when the piper is cheated out of his promised payment by the town's corrupt Mayor, he returns to extract a terrible revenge. He pipes again, but this time it is the children of the town who are spirited away by the strange musical enchantment.

All of the children are gone - except one. By a chance of fate, on the same day that the piper takes the children, young Penelope awakes on her birthday to find that she is deaf. This deafness saved her from being lured away like the others by the piper's enchanted music.

Since she is immune to the power of the piper's music, it becomes Penelope's destiny to try to find the children of Hamelin and if she can, bring them home.

The story of Penelope's quest will cast its own spell on young readers age 10 and up.