The classic Scottish ballad of Tam Lin, a human knight held in bondage by the Elfin Queen, and rescued through the bravery of a young woman, is retold in picture book form by expatriate English author Susan Cooper and English illustrator Warwick Hutton. Margaret, the strong-willed daughter of the King of Scotland, grows tired of her nurse's strictures on the correct behavior for a young maiden, running off one day to pick roses in Carterhays, a nearby wood said to be haunted by the Elfin knight Tam Lin. Here she meets the knight in question, but discovers that he is no elf, but a human man captured as a boy by the Elfin Queen, and intended as a sacrifice to the devil, on Midsummer night. Determining to rescue Tam Lin, Margaret sets out on that fateful night, enduring a series of tests that leave her triumphant in the end, and Tam Lin rescued...

I have not read the original ballad upon which Tam Lin is based, so I cannot speak to the authenticity of this retelling. That being said, I found Cooper's prose lovely—well written, and immensely engaging—just as I did with another of her picture book folktale retellings, The Selkie Girl, which was likewise illustrated by Warwick Hutton. Unfortunately, much as in that other book, I wasn't as impressed with the illustrations as I was with the text. Hutton is someone whose work I have encountered a number of times, given my interest in folklore and mythology, and the fact that his picture books tend to fall into those categories, and I always find his illustrations interesting, engaging even, but they are never quite to my taste, aesthetically speaking. Still, tastes vary, so those who enjoy his artwork might find this one a very winsome read. For my part, although I do recommend this one to young folk and fairy-tale enthusiasts, I prefer the artwork of Charles Mikolaycak, in Jane Yolen's Tam Lin: An Old Ballad, or of Philip Logan, in Lari Don's The Tale of Tam Linn. ( )

3.7 stars
I enjoyed the folktale, and Susan Cooper's retelling of it, but not so much the illustrations. ( )

Using the text of the old Scottish ballad Tam Lin (Child 39 version G) Cooper tells of the bold Princess Margaret who ventures into a haunted wood to meet Tam Lin, an earthly Knight under the spell of the Elfin Queen. Then by a trial of courage bravely steals him away for her husband and thereby rescues him from hell. ( )

Nice folktale from Scotland... very involved and deep ( )