This was a nice, easy read to get through, as it is a short story but published as it’s own release. With that being said there is certainly a deep metaphor here to life, unexpected departure, suffering and purgatory, and the great beyond. Not much of a believer myself—and don’t misunderstand, Tolkien is not giving a overhanded Christian/religious tale here—but I do really enjoy the way Tolkien conveys all that through the little things, in the littlest story. Niggle wants to finish his painted canvas before his big journey, but he can’t seem to get anything done for all the needless interruptions. Kind of a silly, fun way to describe life itself. And there is of course other views on what is meant here as well...this is just the most direct take on it I feel. Roverandom es una novela corta infantil. Si bien es whimsy y por momentos encantadora, se habría beneficiado mucho de un formato aparte, con muchas más ilustraciones de parte del infaltable Sr Lee. Es como para leérselo a los niños en voz alta y quizá el relato que menos tiene que ver con la colección. Haría mucho más sentido en un gran Ómnibus con el Hobbit. Lo que más me gustó fue el acercamiento al resto del legendarium con la mención de Valinor.

This is a nice collection of what can be considered Tolkien’s more classic fairytales and I love the cover they chose. Math tells me this is a 4.6/5*.Roverandom: Un perrito está jugando cuando se enfada con un señor que pasaba por allí, y le rompe el pantalón. Este señor, a la sazón un mago de gran poder y un pelín rencoroso, le convierte en un perrito de juguete, que por avatares de la vida acaba en el bolsillo de un niño. El niño pierde al perrito en una playa, y la historia nos cuenta los viajes del perrito Rover en busca de volver a su hogar. Farmer Giles of Ham is the most straight-forward of the stories, the tale of a "little man" (though of great girth!) who is reluctantly forced into a heroic role. It is a humorous and somewhat satirical tale, easily enjoyed by children for the adventure, and by adults for the characterisations.

The story begins with Froto Baggins and hobbit friends heading off on their mission to destroy the One Ring. While wandering through the haunted forest they get lost. To their relief, the stumble upon a house, the home of Tom Bombadil. They are all welcomed inside, told that nothing will harm them while they stay there and recover. Tom Bombadil is master of wood, water and hill. Each night he tells them stories of the wood. Each night Froto has terrible dreams, but the reassurances that nothing can harm him while in Tom Bombadil's home enable him to return to sleep without fear. The hobbits are given shelter, food and drink. The series contains the four stories in Tales from the Perilous Realm: Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootton Major, Leaf by Niggle and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is the dramatization of Tom's scenes with the four Hobbits in The Fellowship of the Ring, rather than a retelling of the events of the poems The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Bombadil Goes Boating. Brian Sibley had expressed some pity in not including it in his radio adaptation, and decided to include it here [1].Above a starry sea!As fun as it can be to read Sam's poems about stone trolls and hear about Frodo's dark and despairing dreams, this selection of poetry left me rather underwhelmed. Also on disc 2 is Leaf By Niggle. I think children would have trouble understanding this story & there may be content that's not appropriate for them, anyway. En esta sección nos encontramos distintas poesías que escribió Tolkien. Algunas fueron sacadas/inspiradas en el mundo de LOTR.

Roverandom: a great children's story that I hope to share with my nieces and nephew soon. Tolkien wrote it for his own son to make him feel better about losing a toy dog. It's a cute story with silly adventures and a happy ending. Este me pareció más curioso. Está ambientado en otra realidad, que podría ser fácilmente algún paraje de Númenor. El granjero se convierte sin quererlo en el salvador de su aldea, y verá las implicaciones de que su renombre crezca. Sin embargo, no me convenció mucho la parte del dragón. Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but – having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant – is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town; Here we find a series of poems that deal with Tom Bombadil (only two of them) and others that have to do mostly with The Shire or Middle Earth stories. The least good part of the book, without a doubt, is an unappealing mix.

This story begins with the narrator telling us that every leaf on a tree holds a unique tale. Niggle is a painter, but one that finds he never has enough time to spend painting. His time is taken up by the requests of many. See, Niggle cannot say no to those who ask for his help. It bothers him to no end that people will not leave him be, he's got a painting to finish, can't they see? He's working on the perfect leaf, but soon his painting of the leaf turns into a tree with many leaves, then a forest. The painting has grown so large, he must build a shed just to house it. His neighbors pay his paintings no mind, believing it's a wasteful hobby and he's not really any good. Niggle shows them though when he finally unveils the final result of his efforts. Rating: 3★ Also included is J R R Tolkien: An Audio Portrait, in which Brian Sibley draws together interviews from radio and television programmes featuring the author himself, his original publisher Rayner Unwin, his biographer Humphrey Carpenter and many others torelate the story of both Tolkien the man and the worlds he created.

Tom Bombadil is such an enigma. I mean who exactly is he? Some Tolkien fans would argue that he is Eru, the creator of all life within Tolkien’s Middle Earth, though I think somewhat differently. He breaks any sense of definition with his odd existence: he simply is. We can’t say for a certainty either way, but we do know that Tolkien wanted him to remain somewhat mysterious and beyond the realms of categorisation. I don’t think Tolkien quite knew what he wanted him to be. So that’s how I treat him. Of course we also get the dual pleasure of something light and enjoyable as with most of Tolkien’s earlier works (ie. Roverandom or even the full length The Hobbit), mixed with the lush imagination of the king of fantasy Himself.Farmer Giles saves his farm and, as a consequence, the local village from a rampaging giant. This earns him a fierce reputation for heroism; thus, he is rewarded by the King with a rather glamourous sword. The King, believing this to be a mere ceremonial weapon, parts with the blade gladly. It turns out that the sword is actually Tailbiter, an ancient weapon that carries a powerful enchantment. Indeed, it cannot physically be sheathed when in close proximity to a dragon.