Truly did Tolkien say that The Silmarillion had influenced nearly all of his fiction, and Roverandom is the more interesting for its brush with the earlier tales of Arda and Middle-earth. But at several points it also anticipated a later and more famous book, The Hobbit, begun around 1930 in the wake of Roverandom’s popularity with the Tolkien boys. Aimed at children, but definitely worth reading at any age, Roverandom is the tale of a little dog, Rover, who gets turned into a toy after meddling in the affair of a wizard, Artaxerxes. He goes on an adventure, whisked away from his owner and yellow ball. As a toy he is bought by a woman who gives him to her little boys. Rover has an adventure to the moon and the depths of the sea, hoping to finally be reunited with the little boys that he misses so. Psamathos Psamathides, the head of the Psamathists, a fat and ugly sand-sorcerer who transforms Rover from a toy into a small "fairy-dog".

To console his son, Tolkien created the story of Roverandom to explain the adventures of the dog. Tolkien wrote the story down, based on his own oral version, in 1927 and also provided a number of illustrations which have since been published. [2] :77-83 A few years later, Tolkien submitted Roverandom for publication to George Allen & Unwin in 1936 and although the book was described by Rayner Unwin as "well written and amusing" it was never considered for publication, perhaps as a result of a desire for a sequel to The Hobbit. [3] :xvii The story parodies the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights sent by the King to pursue the dragon are useless fops, more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on the huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. The only part of a 'dragon' they know is the annual celebratory dragon-tail cake. Giles by contrast clearly recognises the danger, and resents being sent with them to face it. But hapless farmers can be forced to become heroes, and Giles shrewdly makes the best of the situation. The wizards, as I mentioned before, and also the relationships and humorous conflict between them. It made me laugh hard during the part when one wizard was telling another wizard about the third wizard's foolish shenanigans. Fortunately, Rover encounters another magical being, a crusty, kindly sand-wizard named Psamathos. That wizard, in turn, gets Rover (who is renamed Roverandom) flown to the moon, where he spends time with the Man in the Moon and his winged dog Rover. And then he's heading off to encounter a talking whale, a mer-dog, a sea serpent - and a dragon. The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old.The adventures of Rover, or 'Roverandom' a he becomes known, include encounters with an ancient sand-sorcerer and a terrible dragon, by the king of wordplay, the story underwent a number of revisions and was originally considered for publication in January 1937, the same year as The Hobbit, was abandoned when the publishers asked instead for a sequel, which culminated in The Lord of the Rings. Roverandom was finally published in 1998. There are no deep moral lessons being taught the audience, which is relieving after reading so many recently published children's books with blatant sermons advocating conservationism or pacifism. This is simply a dog on a mission - to regain the love and comfort of home and the ones he loves. While Roverandom will probably never be listed among the great classics, this theme rings true, making the book a valuable addition to any library. When J. R. R. Tolkien is mentioned, the average person will have immediate thoughts of dragons, hobbits, fiery mountains, or elves. Rightly so, for he is the author of great works on those topics. It is highly unlikely, however, that the person will have immediately recalled the adventures of a small, impetuous dog. This is a shame, because the author who brought us The Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings trilogy also wrote a charming juvenile novel about just such a thing: Roverandom. This is a fantastically childish book that is thoroughly charming; it really captures the essence of Tolkien’s softer themes and humour. Not everything has to be constantly dark and foreboding for his writing to be successful. This is simple, imaginative and a good little bit of fun.

Written for the immediate audience of Tolkien’s children (and, as always, the author himself), Roverandom at heart is a personal story, with references to the Tolkien family and their holiday of 1925. It also contains expressions of Tolkien’s concern about motorcars and pollution, as well as the kind of unrestrained wordplay and allusions such as he loved.

Roverandom

Roverandom is the tale which Tolkien told to his son Michael after the four year old lost his favorite toy on a trip to the seaside; that toy was a small leaden dog that soon became the inspiration for what was to become a favorite family story. Perhaps to provide young Michael with an alternate explanation for the dog's disappearance (preferable to that of it being lost forever in the sand and surf), the story centered around the adventures of a live dog named Rover who, after insulting a passing wizard, is turned into a toy dog and taught a valuable lesson: mind your Ps and Qs when interacting with magical beings!

Tolkien seems to have written out the tale of Roverandom at Christmas 1927, adding an episode concerning the Man-in-the-Moon and a lunar eclipse said to be caused by dragons. (The latter is referred to also in the ‘Father Christmas’ letter for that year, undoubtedly based on an actual eclipse of 8 December.) By now, all of the basic elements of Roverandom were probably in place. The whole feel and heart and theme of the book. It is so utterly sweet and golden and wonderful and heartwarming!! It was such a comforting read, especially when I wasn't feeling well. Writing for January Magazine, David Grayson also praised the descriptions - particularly the "sense of awe" - of Roverandom's world and felt this would be a good book to introduce children to Tolkien. However, Grayson also made clear that this was a "mediocre tale". [7] Trent Walters felt that the editorial content was "tastefully done" and summarised the book: "Whether Roverandom will become a classic or not is up to the future generations of young readers and what they remember loving and what they choose to read to their own kids. But, if you're just looking for an unalloyed, unmolested good time to read aloud to your children (or your make-believe children), call up this book." [8] John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

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This edition reproduces the text and illustrations of the First Edition of 1949 in facsimile, including the colour plates. It also includes: an introduction and notes by the editors, the first written (manuscript) version of the story, drafts for an unfinished sequel, and a map of 'The Little Kingdom' by Pauline Baynes. Tolkien was only in his early thirties when the first draft was written, and it's full of the sort of easy jokes and casual references a well-read young academic might throw in for his little boy's amusement. Old Mother Hubbard's dog has a walk on part, there's a gentle and affectionate explanation of what happens when we dream, there are sly nods towards his work at Oxford, carrots dangled perhaps to entice his youngsters into enjoying the things he himself loved? Well, possibly. Boy Two (representing Michael Tolkien), the owner of toy-dog Rover who encounters Roverandom on the dark side of the moon. spiders and wrapped up by the spiders’ spun silk. Bilbo frees himself and the others, and the company gets away. Bilbo finally tells them about the ring and Gollum. Indeed, it is not too great a step from Rover’s flight with the gull Mew to the bird’s cliffside home in Roverandom to Bilbo Baggins’ flight to the Eagles’ eyrie in The Hobbit. Nor are the spiders that Roverandom encounters on the moon unlike those seen by Bilbo in Mirkwood. The Great White Dragon, with its tender underbelly, is clearly a cousin of The Hobbit’s Smaug, and each of the three wizards of Roverandom — Artaxerxes, Psamathos, and the Man-in-the-Moon — may be seen as a precursor of Gandalf. History of publication and illustrations