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Enchanted Forest
Nobody goes inside the enchanted forest, until one day Janna, a wild sort of girl, squeezes under a fence and enters the eerie place. Beside a rose-clad, ruined well, she meets Tam Lin, whose grey eyes smolder with strange, secret mists -- and at once the two fall in love.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
65 people want to read
About the author
Alan Marks
179 books2 followersLibrarian note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
Alan Marks is a British illustrator and children's book author. Born in London in 1957, he was educated at the Medway College of Art and Design and at the Bath Academy of Art. He taught for a brief time at the Bath Academy and at Southampton Art College, before launching a career in magazine and book illustration. He has illustrated books for many children's authors, including Joan Aiken, Kevin Crossley-Holland and Jane Goodall.
Alan Marks is a British illustrator and children's book author. Born in London in 1957, he was educated at the Medway College of Art and Design and at the Bath Academy of Art. He taught for a brief time at the Bath Academy and at Southampton Art College, before launching a career in magazine and book illustration. He has illustrated books for many children's authors, including Joan Aiken, Kevin Crossley-Holland and Jane Goodall.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 30, 2022
This Tam Lin adaptation is unremarkable in terms of storytelling compared to others. Meaning, there's nothing to remark on the adaptation itself, because it's so faithful to the original ballad but told rather dully and boringly. The only highlight is that the name of the heroine isn't Janet as usual, or Margaret as some versions call her, but Janna. A bit too-modern girl name at first glance, you'd think, but it wasn't unheard of in the 19th century.
The artwork is better than the textual adaptation; it looks watercolour-ish, very colourful, sometimes rather too colourful for the atmosphere the tale is supposed to have. Not enough creepiness in the wood, and the appearance of Tam Lin is a bit... curious. He's dark, which is new to me, because he's always shown to be this golden piece of male beauty to contrast with Janet's plainness, so to see him like this was quite the change. And not a good one, because he's not done well compared to Janet, who is drawn better. I didn't like the illustrations all that much, Alan Marks' way of drawing people isn't one I find likable, but he does great landscapes and his vision for the transformation scene was lovely and very good.
The artwork is better than the textual adaptation; it looks watercolour-ish, very colourful, sometimes rather too colourful for the atmosphere the tale is supposed to have. Not enough creepiness in the wood, and the appearance of Tam Lin is a bit... curious. He's dark, which is new to me, because he's always shown to be this golden piece of male beauty to contrast with Janet's plainness, so to see him like this was quite the change. And not a good one, because he's not done well compared to Janet, who is drawn better. I didn't like the illustrations all that much, Alan Marks' way of drawing people isn't one I find likable, but he does great landscapes and his vision for the transformation scene was lovely and very good.
October 13, 2021
An abridged retelling of Tam Lin.
February 23, 2024
Beautiful illustrations and nice pacing of the story.
January 29, 2015
What can I say? I'm partial to Scotland.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews