Wild Robin

by Susan Jeffers (Retold, Illustrator)

Robin hates the chores he must do around his house until he is kidnapped to fairyland where there is nothing to do but play.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

40 pages, Hardcover

First published December 10, 1976

About the author

There is more than one author with this name.

Biography:

Graduate of Pratt Institute 1964
Worked in the publishing field for three years
Began freelance career in 1968
Published first children's book in 1970

Awards:

Caldecott Honor
Golden Apple Biennial Bratislava
The ABBY American Booksellers Best Book award
Society of Illustrators Awards of Merit
Golden Kite Society of Children's Books Author Illustrators

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd consider this the worst retelling of "Tam Lin" I've read so far. The boy protagonist, here called Robin instead of Tam, is an absolute brat, and the Queen of Fairies (here, they are elves, not fairies) was doing humanity a favour by taking him away, and if it was up to me, I'd not have bothered to rescue that dreadful, poorly-behaved brat from her.

It may be marketed as an adaptation for children, but it has perverted the "Tam Lin" ballad so much it's practically warped into your average clichéd cautionary tale about what happens to children that misbehave. "Be good or the Boogeyman will take you!" but with a veneer of pseudo-folklore to give it at least an appearance of not being a thinly-veiled and preachy iteration of the same old sermon all kids have heard.

If you'd still wish a sanitised version of "Tam Lin" for your kids to read, go for The Tale of Tam Linn by Don & Longson, which also omits the sex and sacrifice parts for the benefit of young readers but doesn't twist the ballad beyond recognition. I don't recommend Jeffers' version at all, though, not even for children, in spite of the artwork being nice and the only saving aspect of this rendition.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I had read as a little kid but forgotten until I happened upon it.

I'm not sure if this is a folk tale or if Jeffers just adjusted Tam Lin to remove the sex parts of the story -- it's basically the rescue aspect of the Tam Lin story but with a young brother and sister. Nice illustrations, I'll have to look at other works of hers.

[Ward Behle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frequently, I checked this book out from my library when I was in elementary school.
As an artist, I love the illustrations. Susan Jeffers is a genius. I love how she captures so many tiny details (deer in a forested landscape, random fairies in the cavalcade), in addition to facial expressions. I wished for years that I could cultivate such a style.
Having an older sister, I could relate to the story, too. Often, she and I would go ride horses, see friends, or drive off to watch movies at the open-air cinema.
This is a book that I highly recommend to everyone.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent retelling of the old Scottish tale of Tam Lin. This picture book version, written and beautifully illustrated by Susan Jeffers, recounts the story in a way that will appeal to and make sense to children -- and anyone who has been a child who hated chores or a had a frustrating sibling.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a little young for Iris, or I would suggest her Aunt Wendy buy it for her, but it is a pleasant picture book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love fairy tales. This was a cute book.