From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Begun in 1925, this fantasy was roughly finished later, but set aside in favor of sequels to The Hobbit. Here, at last, two Tolkien scholars present it, with five illustrations by the author sandwiched between a long, minutely detailed introduction and padded but sometimes illuminating endnotes. Changed from a live dog into a toy after incautiously biting a wizard, Rover is dropped on the beach by his young owner, where he meets a second wizard who sends him on a gull's back to the Man-in-the-Moon. Sporting wings and a new name, "Roverandom" irritates the Great White Dragon that causes lunar eclipses and visits a valley where sleeping children gather for pleasant dreams, among other places, then returns to Earth to beg the first wizard, a bumbling sort who has since married a mermaid and moved under the ocean, to make him a real dog again. Despite a wandering plot and minor inconsistencies, the old Tolkien magic is here in full force: in evocative names, glimpses of supernal events, and wonderfully exotic locales seen through the eyes of a comfortably familiar character. Enthusiasts will pore over the notes, but the story stands well enough on its own as an incidental piece from one of our century's great literary imaginations.
John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tolkien originally created the tale of ROVERANDOM in 1925 to soothe his son, Michael, after the child lost his toy dog while on vacation. It is the story is of a real dog, Rover, who is turned into a toy by a wizard. Seventy-five years later, the playful vibrance of this supernatural adventure is still new and wonderous for all Tolkein lovers, and by all lovers of masterful storytelling. Derek Jacobi delves into his narration with infectious energy. His character voices are sometimes silly but always somehow appropriate for the bizarre creatures Tolkien has created. ROVERANDOM is a great family collectible. R.A.P. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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