The Secrets of the Pied Piper 1: The Peddler's Road by Matthew Cody

His sister, Max, likes to color her hair different shades.  It was supposed to be magenta, but it looks like hot pink to him.  He's used to her quirks and ignores it.  Just like Max tries to ignore Carter's bad foot.  When they get drawn into a new adventure, her hair color and Carter's limp bring them more attention than they want...

Knopf Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 27th.

If you've read many fairy tales, you know the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.  When they didn't pay for the rat treatment, they lost their children.  All of them except one lame boy who couldn't keep up.  There's a segment in this book that brings you up to date on the fairy tale.  This tale really begins seven hundred years later when the children and their father are staying in Hamelin for his work.  They get an infestation of rats and the exterminator has her dad sign the contract.  He says don't worry about the fine print.  The fine print says he's giving his children up.

They follow the music he plays and end up in a village of children who have never aged.  The children are the same as when the piper took them away.  But the world they live in has monsters outside the walls.

This mix of old and new story is an interesting read.  There's lots of action, fairy tale interaction, and you're not sure who is the meanest enemy there.  I read the whole thing when I sat down to start.  I found it fascinating.  The ending is not the end.  You can tell there will be more adventures and further books in this series.  That's fine with me.  I'll read them!