The better of the two Till (Tyl) stories I've read this month. Williams and Dutch illustrator Friso Henstra were careful to respect tradition, and to create a Tyl who is both admirable and, well, wicked.

As the author's note reads: Tyl Uilenspiegel was as famous in the Netherlands as Robin Hood was in England.... His name means 'Owl's Mirror,' that is, the moon. During the long war for independence which the Low Countries fought against Spain in the sixteenth century, there were many popular tales in which Tyl was made the symbol of the cunning and boldness of the Netherlanders."" ( )