Saturday, August 28, 2010

Roverandom

Tolkien, J.R.R. Roverandom. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.

Plot: A dog named Rover gets changed into a toy by a wizard. In attempt to regain his normal dog form, he meets a sand wizard, travels to the moon, discovers where dreams are made, and confronts the wizard in the palace of the sea king.

Genre: Animals, Toys, Fantasy, Fiction

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Similar Titles: The Hobbit, Father Christmas Letters, The Velevateen Rabbit

Personal Thoughts: The story behind the story is amazing. Apparently, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the story to console his son after the boy lost his favorite toy, a black and white dog, at the beach. Also, the story hints at some elements, such as dragons and wizards, that would later become a defining characteristic of Tolkien's works (most notably, The Hobbit), so the book gathers interest from a historical standpoint. The copy I managed to get also has watercolors made by Tolkien himself to go with the story. Colored plates raised the price of the book, but they are well worth it.

1 comment:

  1. Just wanted to check in and let you know you are off to a great start with the blog entries.

    ReplyDelete