When a piper lures away a town's rats, he expects to be paid fully for his work, but the skinflint mayor won't honor their agreement. And so he lures away all the town's children, never to be seen again. . .

Readers have been haunted by Robert Browning's classic poem since its first publication in 1842--and its underlying message is just as relevant today. In this edition, Browning's clever verses provided illustrator Kate Greenaway, one of the leading British illustrators of the late 19th century, with a firm foundation on which to display her talents. Greenaway chose a Pre-Raphaelite style and her illustrations brought new life to an old verse. Published in London and New York by George Routledge and Sons in 1888, Greenaway's Pied Piper met with immediate success on both sides of the ocean. American and British critics alike hailed it as her very best work, acknowledging that no other illustrator could have done justice to the picturesque humor of Browning's work. Attesting to the perfect marriage of text and illustration, Greenaway's ethereal watercolors continue to delight readers more than 100 years after their first publication.

ipicturebooks is proud to bring this classic children's book--otherwise only to be found in rare book collections--back to life in ebook form, and make it available to a wide audience.