The Tale of Tam Linn

Gr 1–3—The most commonly known version of this Scottish tale is the one found in Joseph Jacobs's More English Fairy Tales, first published in 1894. In this retelling, Don attempts to make the story more accessible to a younger audience. However, that approach also means parting with much of the language and some of the plot elements that gave the original tale its power and longevity. Janet and Tam Linn are no longer young lovers who were to be married before Tam Linn was taken by the Queen of Elfland; rather, Janet is just a skeptical child who only knows of Tam Linn because "all the children still sing songs about you." While the strength of Janet's love gives her the power to fight the queen's shape-changing magic and hold fast to Tam Linn to prevent him from being used to pay a tithe to the nether world, the child Janet will risk her life because "I believe a boy stolen by the fairies should be allowed to walk back out of the woods." There is no threat to Tam Linn except his continued captivity. Other changes similarly deflate the tale, such as the elimination of the queen's eerie song in which she tells of what she would have done to Tam Linn had she known he would be rescued. Longson's illustrations have a murky quality, as the palette relies largely on browns, and while carefully executed, they don't inspire close or repeated examination.