In 1925, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog on the beach. To console him, his father, J.R.R. Tolkien, improvised a story about ...
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Jun 03, 2011
in a sentence or so: a naughty little puppy named Rover is quite rude to a crotchety magician. the magician, needless to say, does not take too kindly to Rover's rudeness and turns him into a toy pup. will Rover be able to ever become a real puppy again?
Rover, who reminds me a lot of the Pokey Little Puppy (which is like my FAVE children's book ever), ticks off a magician. his journey then begins on finding his way back to becoming a real dog. he is put in a store window and purchase More...
Rover, who reminds me a lot of the Pokey Little Puppy (which is like my FAVE children's book ever), ticks off a magician. his journey then begins on finding his way back to becoming a real dog. he is put in a store window and purchase More...
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Sep 28, 2011
Jason
rated it: 
My father remarried a few months ago, and my stepmother still owns her own house. She's been cleaning it out for a while, and getting rid of odds and ends (mostly belonging to her ex-husband). She came across this and my father grabbed it to give to me since he knows I like Tolkien. I'm very glad he did. I had never heard of this book before, and was interested in checking it out.
Evidently Tolkien wrote it for, or maybe just told it to, his second son after said son had lost a to More...
Evidently Tolkien wrote it for, or maybe just told it to, his second son after said son had lost a to More...
Dec 31, 2010
Kimarie
rated it: 
This is a story J.R.R. Tolkien originally invented for his middle son to explain the disappearance of a toy dog the boy lost at the beach. In that way it reminds me of Winnie-the-Pooh, where the author's son takes part in the story. I enjoyed reading the foreword and footnotes almost as much as reading the story itself. Tolkien gave this story to his publishers as a follow up to The Hobbit, and they rejected it and asked for more stories about hobbits, leading to The Lord of the Rings. I lov
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Aug 26, 2010
Tom
rated it: 
Tolkien wrote this tale over several years, initially in response to one of his sons losing a beloved toy dog at the beach. This delightful children's tale follows the adventures of Rover, a real dog turned tiny toy dog by a magician. From the moon to the deep sea, Rover (now called Roverandom) stirs up fun & trouble like only a dog can do. Readers of Tolkien's Middle Earth mythologies will find plenty of early versions of Gandalf, elves, etc, as well as similar descriptions of fantastical la
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Dec 19, 2011
Chrissy
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I discovered Roverandom in high school, hidden behind all of Tolkien's other works in our tiny library. I read it in a day. It is a children's book, but I'm a sucker for a fairy tale, and it reads like one. I love it so much. It makes me feel like a kid again. So imaginative and visual. Little Roverandom goes on so many adventures, and this underrated little gem deserves more attention than it's gotten. Perfect for kids and adults and anyone who loves Tolkien. I have a special place in my heart
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Jan 09, 2012
Jan
rated it: 
Nederlands onderaan.
I liked the story as it was intended, a tale for children. However, I'm terribly disappointed I read this in the Dutch translation. Not to say that the translation was bad per se, but I think it lost a lot of the magic of Tolkiens use of language. In the introduction there's a lot of mentions of all his language games and when I read those little English snippets, I felt a pang of regret of not getting the English edition. Alas, my library doesn't carry that.
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I liked the story as it was intended, a tale for children. However, I'm terribly disappointed I read this in the Dutch translation. Not to say that the translation was bad per se, but I think it lost a lot of the magic of Tolkiens use of language. In the introduction there's a lot of mentions of all his language games and when I read those little English snippets, I felt a pang of regret of not getting the English edition. Alas, my library doesn't carry that.
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Apr 24, 2011
Elanor
rated it:
This demonstrates why I love Tolkien so much. He can take a little incident like his son losing a tin dog and make it into a whole novel (a short one, but still, a novel)full of amusing incidents and fairy tale creatures and even allusions to the world of Lord of the Rings.
Roverandom won't be going on my list of all time favourites, because, after all, it is a kid's book, but I still enjoyed it much more than many of the YA books I've read recently. Recommended as a wonderful quick re
Roverandom won't be going on my list of all time favourites, because, after all, it is a kid's book, but I still enjoyed it much more than many of the YA books I've read recently. Recommended as a wonderful quick re
Feb 10, 2009
Audra
rated it:
I think I am probably already partial to a book written by Tolkien for his children, and not published until well after his death... but this book is precious. This is the story of an intrepid dog who insults a wizard and then faces an odyssey as he pays the consequences. It has enough flow to keep you moving, but is easygoing enough that it can be read over several evenings as a bedtime story. I highly recommend!
Jul 09, 2009
Deb
rated it:
Loved it! An endearing, imaginative tale from the master story-teller. Roverandom began as a story Tolkien told to his sons to console his 2nd son, Michael, after he had lost his favorite toy while on a family vacation at the beach. From there, the story grew and developed into a written work which was eventually published. Also enchanting is the related artwork by Tolkien that is found in this edition (not the paperback edition shown).
May 15, 2009
Jim
rated it:
When a great fantasist like Tolkien writes something just for fun (on the occasion of his son losing a toy dog on the beach), the results can be (and are) highly entertaining. The toy dog is, of course, a real dog that has been changed into a toy for biting the leg of sorcerer Mr. Artaxerxes. Enroute to becoming a dog again, Roverandom winds up spending some time on the Moon and under the Sea (with the mermen).
Jan 26, 2012
Scott
rated it:
I almost put this down after two chapters but Tolkien did end up grabbing me in the end with this clever story he wrote for his son. Tolkien sometimes starts slow (I felt the same way about The Hobbit). Overall I would say this isn't a great book, it did go unpublished for decades, but it may be worth a weekend to get your imagination going to read about a naughty dog, wizards, and a trip to the moon.
Oct 29, 2011
Kendra
rated it:
This is the cutest book ever! Although I read it about half a day (during school), I enjoyed every word of it. Roverandom is the cutest dog who goes on amazing adventures. I wish we humans hadn't done so much exploring (like on the moon) b/c Roverandom goes to there and meets the Man-On-The-Moon and his dog and they have all this fun (but they don't worry the moonbeams!) :)
Mar 18, 2011
Derek
rated it:
It's a curious thing: it has both the rambling improvisation of a father inventing a story on the fly, and the layers of meaning and allusion as though from meticulous construction. Thankfully the editors provide an appendix to chase down obscure references.
I plan on reading it to my son on several occasions, in hopes that the good taste seeps into his bloodstream.
I plan on reading it to my son on several occasions, in hopes that the good taste seeps into his bloodstream.
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Apr 24, 2009
Michael
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I give this three stars not out of any disrespect for Tolkien, but because it is primarily a fairy tale for little kids. This is a great place for a 7 or 8 year old to start reading Tolkien's works, but it's not really for hard-core Tolkienites. Having said that, it does a great job at what it was written for, so I don't have any real complaints other than that.
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Jan 26, 2012
Caleb
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This book is most aptly summed up by its title. It is about a dog named Rover. And the book is random...so very random. The humor is obscure, somewhat outdated, and rather confusing for its children audience, but the book is an intriguing adventure, and a quite rewarding one if you manage to force yourself to read through it in its entirety.
Apr 06, 2010
Dona
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A story about a dog named Rover who makes a fantastic trip to the moon, inspired by Tolkien's youngest son's dog toy. The edition of the book I read was illustrated with Tolkien's own watercolour drawings and sketches, which are truly beautiful. They definitely made the book more enjoyable for me, as I didn't find it that interesting.
Aug 06, 2010
Molly Ellen
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This is my favorite of Tolkien's books - maybe alongside of Letters from Father Christmas and Smith of Wootten Major. In Roverandom, he actually steps apart from himself and writes the world of his young son Christopher - he is captivating and lovable, with a very friendly charm that has little to do with the fjords of Middle Earth.
Jan 26, 2010
Kendra
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So obviously, this book was written for Tolkien's family, not probably not for public reading. It's a very personal book, based upon the sad story of Tolkien's youngest son losing his toy puppy. Basicaly, Tolkien wrote a whole book about the adventures of Rover (the toy puppy) in order to comfort his youngest son in his loss.
Jan 05, 2011
Solyndra
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This is the delightful story of a dog who is turned into a toy by a wizard, and has many adventures to get his original form back. Originally written by Tolkien when one of his sons lost their toy dog, this story has kept on developing until it turned into this wonderful little book. It is a very nice & quick read, and one of those precious children's stories, that are enjoyable for all.
Jan 16, 2011
Clay
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This is a cute childrens' story that was written by Tolkein to comfort one of his kids after he lost his favorite toy dog. It is very light and is written with a bit of a zany Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchet feel. This will be an excellent book for reading aloud to the children when they get a bit older.
Jan 24, 2009
Benjamin
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This was a sweet, short tale, written in the 1920's by the famous author for his children, one of whom had lost a beloved toy dog. Enchanting. I love the idea of creating a story to explain and soothe after something precious is lost. A almost spiritual endeavor that appealed deeply to me.
Aug 19, 2011
Rose
rated it:
What good there is in this is wonderful, but the rest is so, well, random and rambling. It seemed unfinished. My five-year-old found all the action hard to follow. He'd look up and find us in a totally different situation with not much logic connecting present to past. Okay, I had the same problem.
Feb 16, 2009
Christine
rated it:
I need to buy a copy of this book (with illustrations, introduction, & notes) so that I can read it to my children. What a delightful fantasy story for children! If you've ever loved Tolkein (specifically the Hobbit), you might want to consider this very entertaining story.
Jan 03, 2011
James M.
rated it:
A very nice children's story with several little partially hidden references to Tolkien's other works and mythology. The introduction by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull is invaluable in pointing some of these out and providing background.
Sep 12, 2009
David
rated it:
Tolkien - lighter, shorter, wicked sense of humor, plus his excellent illustrations. If you think Tolkien is only the thick richness of The Lord of the Rings, you need to read Roverrandom. And Farmer Giles of Ham.
Jul 02, 2008
Henry
rated it:
Is was short (only 88 pages) and didn't have anywhere near the depth of his longer stories but it was fun and not really like anything else I've read. It reminded me more of the types of stories the three of us used to make up about Jasper (a golden retriever) than anything, which made it all the more special. Of course, Jasper never rode on a gull to the moon, but then again, none of us are Tolkien, either. It's the sort of children's story that I loved as a child, but of course, it wasn't publ
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Jul 04, 2011
Amy
rated it:
The charming story of a dog's adventures, on the moon, under the sea... When Tolkien's son lost a toy dog, the storymaster created a tale to comfort the little boy about Rover's travels and hijinks.
Feb 26, 2010
Read by ACRL Member of the Week Gloriana St. Clair. Learn more about Gloriana on the ACRL Insider blog.
Mar 26, 2011
Evan
rated it:
Worthy reading for Tolkein fans who are interested in an early example of Tolkein's childrens-story myth-making process. But it is just a goofy kids story, so it's not exactly required reading.
Nov 27, 2010
Crystal
rated it:
Although this is clearly a children's book, I still appreciate how endearing and imaginative it is. Sometimes it is nice to relax with a quick, lighthearted read.
