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Roverandom

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christina Scull (Editor), Wayne G. Hammond (Editor)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 3,763 ratings · 202 reviews

A classic children's story by the author of THE HOBBIT

Rover should never have bitten the wizard's trousers. His punishment was to be transformed into a toy, and now he is forced to track down the magician so he can be returned to normal. His adventures will take him to the moon and under the sea, introducing him to many fabulous - and dangerous - creatures.

Inspired by the...more

Paperback, 116 pages

Published September 2nd 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published January 1st 1998)

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Aug 26, 2012 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Just about anyone

Recommended to Jason by: Nobody

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 toy dog on a beach...more 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 toy dog on a beach outing. He liked it so much that he tried to have it published after The Hobbit, but the publishers wanted a sequel instead of this kid's tripe, so he put this away and wrote The Lord of the Rings instead. Now, I'm glad he wrote LOTR, but surely the publishers could have just nipped this in their printing press, but oh well.

The story involves a dog who steps afoul of a wizard. The wizard turns him into a toy dog, who gets purchased by a mother for her boy, and the boy loses the dog on the beach. Another wizard turns him into a real dog again, but he's still toy size. There's a trip to the moon, more wizards, a dragon, spiders, sea serpents, dreams, merpeople, a whale, sea goblins, and all kinds of Tolkienish things. These are the bedtime stories the Tolkien children heard, and it makes me wonder if a Tolkien child ever got a wink of sleep.

At any rate, while some of these creatures are inherently creepy, Tolkien spins his yarn in the same light vein as The Hobbit, and it all winds up being very amusing. I'm sure if it was written in the same heavy language of LOTR with its multiple lexicons, then this would be nowhere near as enjoyable. Best of all, there is not a single song in it. Well, songs are sung, but we don't have to read the lyrics to any of them, and everything is in English. In short: Roverandom is the anti-Silmarillion as far as writing style is concerned. (Actually, that's just a guess. I've never made it through The Silmarillion, and know far more people who have attempted it and failed than I do people who succeeded to make it to the end).

The wit and humor in this story is superb, and I enjoyed every page of it. All the wizards, and some of the other characters, have the Gandalf/Thorin grumps going on, which has always been highly entertaining to me. Roverandom almost inadvertently destroys the world when he bites a shark's tail-fin for a bit of fun because it causes a chain reaction that upsets the sea-serpent, a beast so powerful that not even the most powerful wizard, the man in the moon, can do much with him. (The last time he tried, they accidentally sank Atlantis before the sea serpent just went back to sleep). Just think of the scene in Police Academy when Fackler tosses an apple out the window of his cruiser which starts a riot, and you'll understand.

It's only 89 pages, and I finished it in a single evening. This version of the book has a lengthy introduction which I skipped, so I can tell you nothing about it, but that doesn't mean there isn't interesting stuff in it. I almost never read introductions that aren't written by the author himself, and I might even stop doing that. (I'm still smarting from that introduction to The Scarlet Letter). It also has about a million end notes which talk about various changes from the original text, sources of some odd phrases, and what not. I also skipped these, and it was easy to do it. The end notes are just at the end of the book and give the corresponding page number, but there are no end note numbers included in the text of the story, so you have no idea when there's an end note included unless you mark them yourself or constantly flip back to the end notes to see.

I recommend this to just about anyone who enjoys a light, kid's fantasy story packed with humorous and witty elements, and especially to dog lovers.(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Children

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, ya

Most definitely a juvenile book. Notably, the music in the audiobook (which is thankfully infrequent) is very twee and kind of annoying. This is a book about a dog called Rover (and later Roverandom) who goes on an adventure and (view spoiler). I wonder if Tolkien based his adventure loosely on the Odyssey. It certainly seems like a juvenile version of it, in the same manner as Finding Nemo (did the creators of that read this, I wo...more

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Apr 27, 2009 Lisa (lisaisbusynerding) added it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it

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 purchased by a mom f...more 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 purchased by a mom for her son, Boy 2 (her second child). Boy 2 is smitten with the toy Rover, but Rover is more concerned about become real again, not just being some little boy's toy. one day on the beach, Rover slips out of Boy 2's pocket and waits in the sand for another magician to help guide him on his journey towards real-dog-hood again.

this was a really creative story. and no wonder, i mean it is written by Tolkien and all. Rover spends equal time on earth, on the moon, and in the sea. the writing feels like a parent telling their child a story, which it is. this was written by Tolkien for his son (Boy 2) after he was distraught over losing his toy dog at the beach (Rover). Tolkien draws heavily from Norse mythology in the weaving of his story and has plenty of nods to (then) cultural references. there is a note section in the back of this edition that helps guide the reader who may not be the most familiar with the year 1925 - when this was originally written.

complete with dragons, wizards, and the stuff dreams - and nightmares - are made of, Rover remained a realistic and sweet character. he meets lots of fun people and has lots of wacky experiences along the way, as any good adventurer does. this is a cute, fun, sweet and quick read for people of any age.

fave quote: "The moon-dog did not blush, because he could not; and he did not say anything, but he went and sat down in a corner and wondered how much the old man knew of everything that went on, and everything tat was said, too. Also for a little while he wondered what exactly the old man meant; but that did not bother him long - he was a lighthearted fellow." 37

fix er up: i got a bit impatient for things to be wrapped up. i don't really know why...it's all of 80 pages!(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 Rover, a real dog who is magically transformed into a toy and is forced to seek out the wizard who wronged him in order to be returned to normal. This charming tale, peopled by a sand-sorcerer and a terrible dragon, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon, endured several drafts over the years. Now, more than seventy years later, the adventure

...more

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 Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4 and up, younger for reading aloud. This previously unpublished story chronicles the adventures and life lessons of a very engaging young dog named Roverandom, who makes the mistake of being insolent to a passing wizard. To teach the dog a lesson, the offended wizard turns Roverandom into a toy dog, frozen in a perpetual begging position, frustratingly small and without a real bark. As he begins his determined quest to become a real dog again, Roverandom faces experiences that are humbling, eye-opening, and exciting, from a trip to the moon, where he faces the Great White Dragon, to under the sea, where he confronts both the adversarial Sea-serpent and the ill-tempered wizard who originally cast the spell (and who gets his own just desserts at the end). The tale will appeal to readers of all ages, with its detailed descriptions of fantastical landscapes, its snippety, rival wizards, and its creative characters, all described with Tolkien's trademark droll wit and humor, and enhanced by his few but charming drawings. Short, riveting chapters make this a great read-aloud book, and as with all good Tolkien tales, there's a lesson to be drawn: mind your p's and q's. The wordy but comprehensive and interesting introduction to the novel, which was originally written to comfort Tolkien's four-year-old son following the loss of a beloved toy, includes some fascinating information about the author and his family, a boon for educators, parents, and Tolkienphiles. Extensive endnotes clarify Tolkien's satirical references to the politics and society of his times and explain the many mythological characters. A delightful story for fans of Tolkien, fantasy, and myth, featuring the irresistible, sympathetic, and comic Roverandom, a classic character in his own right. Shelle Rosenfeld

(less)

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Feb 01, 2013 Cooper Emmons added it

I thought that the book was okay. Because it was very hard to understand and there where some really hard names to understand like, the names where like mew for a seagull which is crazy name, for a seagull and there was a crazy name for the wizards names. And also the wizard thats name was artzastar and the other people he has to go the moon meet with the wizard and back to under the sea with different animals and other exotic things. In the book the dog Rover in minimized, so he is a toy. This...more

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May 16, 2012 Caitlin rated it 5 of 5 stars

J. R. R. Tolkien has often been put into the "lengthy authors" category due to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Noted for his complex histories, languages, and peoples, what really isn't known about Tolkien is that he could write the occasional bit of comedic fairytale. Roverandom is a delightful story about a little dog named Rover who bites a wizard's trousers out of annoyance and is turned into a toy dog. He then has many wonderful adventures, some of which involve going to the M...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Duesterwald-Online rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kinderbuch

Inhalt:
Rover ist noch ein Welpe und lebt erst seit kurzem bei einer alten Frau. Dort gibt es für ihn nichts schöneres, als mit seinem gelben Ball zu spielen.
Eines Tages wird dieser gelbe Ball von einem Mann genommen und Rover gefällt das gar nicht. Er bellt den Mann an und beißt ihm kurz entschlossen in die Hose.
Eine äußerst schlechte Idee von Rover. Denn der Mann ist ein Zauberer.
Der Zauberer war alles andere als erfreut über das Verhalten des kleinen Hundes.
So entscheidet er sich, den Welpe...more Inhalt:
Rover ist noch ein Welpe und lebt erst seit kurzem bei einer alten Frau. Dort gibt es für ihn nichts schöneres, als mit seinem gelben Ball zu spielen.
Eines Tages wird dieser gelbe Ball von einem Mann genommen und Rover gefällt das gar nicht. Er bellt den Mann an und beißt ihm kurz entschlossen in die Hose.
Eine äußerst schlechte Idee von Rover. Denn der Mann ist ein Zauberer.
Der Zauberer war alles andere als erfreut über das Verhalten des kleinen Hundes.
So entscheidet er sich, den Welpen zu bestrafen: Er verwandelt Rover in einen Spielzeughund. Und damit beginnt Rovers größtes Abenteuer.

Meinung:
Das Buch beginnt mit der Erzählung darüber, dass Tolkiens zweiter Sohn Michael sein Lieblingsspielzeug verloren hatte. Daraufhin schrieb Tolkien diese Geschichte über den kleinen Rover und widmete sie seinem Sohn und erst über 70 Jahre später sollte diese Geschichte veröffentlicht werden.
Da ist der Welpe Rover, der am Anfang der Geschichte äußerst verspielt, aber einfach zu unhöflich ist. Deshalb bestraft ihn der Zauberer, denn der Hund soll Benehmen lernen. In einer fantastischen Geschichte erzählt Tolkien liebevoll die belehrenden Abenteuer des kleinen Hundes, die ihn vom Mond bis hin zu den tiefsten Gründen im Ozean bringen werden. Und dabei schafft er den perfekten Ausgleich zwischen einer lehrenden Lektüre für Kinder und einer Geschichte, die ihnen Spaß bringt und sie zum Träumen verführt.
Am Ende dieser Ausgabe sind Notizen zu der Geschichte enthalten. Dort werden einzelne Worte sowie ganze Ausdrücke erklärt bzw. näher beleuchtet. Vieles aus dem Buch hängt mit Tolkiens Familienleben zusammen, vieles kann man auch wieder auf seine Vorliebe für Sagen und Mythologie zurückführen.
Die Geschichte über den kleinen Rover ist ein Schatz für jeden Tolkien Fan. Doch nicht nur das. Es ist eine zuckersüße Geschichte, die Kinder begeistern kann und zum Träumen einlädt.
Ein Highlight sind auch die Illustrationen, die Tolkien selbst zu der Geschichte anfertigte und die im Buch enthalten sind.

Fazit:
Wie Rover zu Roverandom wurde sollte jeder einmal selbst gelesen haben. Eine schöne Kindergeschichte, die auch Erwachsene in eine Welt zum Träumen führt.(less)

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Sep 07, 2012 Dana Salman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-should-be-movies

This should’ve had the honor of being adapted into a classic Disney film, like Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland.

Why couldn’t my dad have been as creative as Tolkien? In fact I know few parents who could come up with an explanation as fantastic as this for such a small thing as losing a toy dog. I myself would probably have just told the kid to get over it, and that we’d get another dog for him.
But there is no dog like Rover! I’ve seen plenty of dog movies, most of which bored me as they were so...more This should’ve had the honor of being adapted into a classic Disney film, like Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland.

Why couldn’t my dad have been as creative as Tolkien? In fact I know few parents who could come up with an explanation as fantastic as this for such a small thing as losing a toy dog. I myself would probably have just told the kid to get over it, and that we’d get another dog for him.
But there is no dog like Rover! I’ve seen plenty of dog movies, most of which bored me as they were so cliché (why can’t there be any good cat movies, or at least a movie in which the cat is not a bad guy?). Haven’t read any dog books though… But in any case, I actually loved this one, mostly because:
a. Rover’s so adorable
b. it contains the best depiction of the moon I’ve ever read about, and
c. the three wizards, Artaxerxes, Psamothos, and the Man-in-the-Moon are such wonderful, humorous, and solid characters.
And what’s great about Roverandom is that even though it’s for little kids, it feels much older itself, in that it’s the foundation of Tolkien’s imagination, on which was set the legendarium. You find little elements in here that make you think of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as other well-known stories. It’s a tale far older than any of the legends told in The Silmarillion. It’s quick, and clever, and joyful, whimsical, and any one of those words that apply to sheer child-delight. This is one of those tales that are just fun, and I really think it’s a shame that it’s not a well-known kids’ fairytale. Again with the added bonus of being adapted into a Disney film (or by any other movie company really). It’s too late now; I wouldn’t have Roverandom turned into a computer-animated film for four-year-olds to watch in 3D. There’s such a thing now as sophisticated children’s stories, which would include Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, and the children stories that are common of this decade, which are not worth paying attention to unless you’re actually a kid.

But I’m seventeen and I loved Roverandom. And I wish I could’ve visited the Moon and watch those two little dogs fly around, or could have been one of the mermaids in the Sea King’s castle and rode in the mouth of Uin. And I wish most of all that I was still young enough to believe that my toy dog was actually a real dog under an enchantment, and that he’d run away because he wanted to be a real dog again. But Unlike Michael, the boy who’d actually lost his toy dog, I wouldn’t have been satisfied with just the events relayed in Roverandom: I would have begged for more.
(less)

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Dec 31, 2010 Kimarie Lamberson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 love Th...more

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May 23, 2013 Dale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one is tricky to review

When reviewing a piece of children's literature, especially a piece by a world-famous author and one that was originally created, not for the general public but to console his young son on the loss of a beloved toy, how can you be fair? Do you let the reputation of the author boost the score? Do you judge this book by the standard of his other books?

Since I have two small children, I decided to judge Roverandom by comparing it to the other children books that I have...more

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May 15, 2012 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, definitely meant for young children, is undoubtedly written by Tolkien. Originally told as a story for Tolkien's son, who lost a toy dog on the beach, Roverandom is about a dog that gets turned into a toy by a wizard and has many adventures thereafter.
Like many of Tolkien's books, the most interesting things happen during the beginning and very end - a lot of adventures are shared during the middle part of the story.
It's clear that Roverandom started off as an oral story, because it's...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Cayla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I love children's books (particularly children's fantasy) from this time period, and anyone who knows me at all knows I adore J.R.R. Tolkien, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that I loved this book. Still, I was surprised by how much I loved it.

The plot was simple, yes, but quite charming, and what I enjoyed most was Tolkien's fantastic descriptions and world-building. Some of my favorite scenes were when Tolkien was introducing the world on the moon. I'm always surprised by how his descriptio...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Ervin Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I accidentally found this book on Booksale - like Rover who was found in the toy shop! And I believe this to be quite rare - not as widely read, of course, as Tolkien's other books. Anyway, this is my first Tolkien read and I quite liked it!

The story on how Roverandom's adventure was created in the first place touched me. I really liked how J.R.R. Tolkien found a way to comfort his son Michael, after losing his toy dog, with this story - somehow providing an explanation about the toy's disappear...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Alfonso rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Roverandom es el producto de una historia que el portentoso Tolkien contó a su hijo en el momento en que éste olvidó su perrito de juguete en la playa. Para consolarle, inventó la historia de este perro, quien, hechizado y convertido en un juguete por un malvado brujo, vive cientos de aventuras antes de recuperar su primitiva forma. Por otra parte, El Señor de los Anillos está estrechamente relacionada con la creación de Roverandon, tanto por las fechas como por la temática... y el apoyo que rec...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, literature

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 l...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Roland Mulder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, child-s-books

A little story about the dog Rover that becomes the toydog Roverandom because he byte the trousser of a wizard.
He experience adventures on the beach , moon and deep in the sea, only for the simple question "forgive me" that takes away the magic that turns him again to a real life dog.
JRR Tolkien writes here, the true story of a lost toy from his middle son.
And takes away the pain and sadness when a child lost his beloved toy.
A lost toy is just a magical living beiing thats only had one goal, to...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Myles rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kids-stuff, wonder-tales

As wonderful and rich and moving as he may be sometimes, Tolkien can be terribly boring.

There is something of the lightness that makes The Hobbit so much fun, but since Tolkien never fully prepped this book for publication, the final effort was never made to make this appealing to children. I'm sure Roverandom was much better when it was a homey story exclusively for his children.

When reading this my first mistake was to read the introduction, which didn't leave off at telling the provenance o...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Adriane Devries rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-fiction, classics

JRR Tolkien first told Roverandom as a bedtime story to his young son after the mournful loss of a beloved dog toy on the beach during a family coastal holiday. Tolkien eventually wrote it down and embellished it into a family remembrance that can now by enjoyed by fans of the author who brought us Lord of the Rings and other tales of Middle Earth.
With beautiful imagery throughout, and plenty of humor for young and old, this story is best read aloud as initially intended, to any child you can ge...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy lovers, children

Shelves: favorites

When people ask me what my favorite book is I usually say it's THE HOBBIT, but sometimes I wonder if this one doesn't actually hold that position. Tolkien had this incredible knack for drawing his reader into an amazing world and I really feel like Roverandom is the unsung hero of his works. And to think, this started out as simply a bedtime story for his children!

I highly recommend grabbing a physical copy of this book that includes Tolkien's own artwork for the story. Seeing his visual interp...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Chrissy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Jan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, speculative, youth

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.

I was also misled...more 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.

I was also misled (A LOT) by the cover of this edition, which has nothing, but ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the story. I really don't get why the publisher, which is the best Dutch fantasy publisher for the Dutch language, and generally does alright, chose to pick this illustration for the cover.

The story is about a silly young dog who bites a wizard in the butt and is punished for that. 2 other wizards butt in and he ends up on a load of adventures thanks to them, including a visit to the moon. There is absolutely nothing here that feels like traditional fantasy with elves, dwarves and trolls. So why on earth this picture? It boggles my mind it does.

So yeah, because of that I'm giving this edition only the ok, and I'll try and catch the English version of this tale in Tales from the Perilous Realm

****

Het verhaal zelf was min of meer hoe ik het verwacht had, een verhaal voor kinderen. Maar ik ben vreselijk teleurgesteld dat ik dit las in de Nederlandse vertaling. Niet om te zeggen dat de vertaling slecht was per se, maar ik denk dat een groot deel van de magie van Tolkiens taalgebruik verloren ging. In de inleiding zijn er veel vermeldingen van al zijn taalspelletjes en toen ik die kleine stukjes engels las, had ik echt spijt dat mijn bibliotheek de engelse editie niet heeft.

Ik was ook misleid (EN HOE!!!!) door de cover van deze editie, die niets, maar dan ook absoluut niets te maken heeft met het verhaal. Ik begrijp echt niet hoe Mynx in godsnaam kon kiezen voor deze illustratie. Het slaat gewoon op niets.

Het verhaal gaat over een domme jonge hond die een tovenaar in de kont bijt en daarvoor gestraft wordt. 2 andere tovenaarsbemoeien zich ermee en hij belandt in een hoop avonturen, inclusief een bezoek aan de maan. Er is absoluut niets dat aanvoelt als de traditionele fantasy met elven, dwergen en trollen. Dus waarom in hemelsnaam deze foto? Dit gaat mijn verstand te boven.

Dus ja, als gevolg hiervan geef ik deze editie slechts een ok.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jrrt, dog-and-canines-fiction, modern-fairy-tales, fantasy-fairy-tales-influ

So what to say about this?

First, honestly, if you are going to have notes in the back of the book, could you please (with a cherry on top) let the reader know when there is a note? Just saying.

This is not as good as LOTR or the Hobbit,yet a reader can see the beginnings of both in this story. It is hard not to see figure of Gandalf and even Biblo in this short story about a dog. It isn't, I think, as child friendly to outloud reading as the Hobbit. It lacks that later book's charm.

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Feb 20, 2012 Storey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very very different from "the hobbit" or the "lord of the rings", but an interesting insight into the more domestic life of JRR. He loved to tell his three boys bedtime stories, and this was one of them that evolved into a book. So yes, it is somewhat corny.

I did find the footnotes at the end of the book VERY helpful. Turns out that, just like the G-rated movies of our day, there is the occasional joke put in that goes right over little ones' heads. Except in this case the jokes are related to t...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Susannaf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, fantasy

This is a wonderful though fairly short children's book, and I treasured it long before I had my son and shared it with him. Parts of it remind me of Baron Von Munchausen, E. Nesbit and other fairytale/tall tale kind of stories. It is written with Tolkien's usual wit and lyricism, has a simple message and is just a fun romp. When I was reading it to my then-five-year-old son, my husband started listening in every night, too. Great family reading!

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Jan 08, 2013 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Cute little adventure (or little dog...BIG adventure I should say!:) Very fun. Again, the preface was great with this one too. Finding out a bit more about Tolkien and what it would have been like to be his kid...and lost a toy. I'm hoping his son felt a wee bit better knowing all those grand adventures HIS lost toy may have had! :) From playing with a ball to the beach to the moon...mermaids, dragons, moon-dogs...and little wings..with black and white spots, to match him! What a mind this man h...more

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May 21, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals-and-children

A classic children's story by the author of THE HOBBIT

Rover should never have bitten the wizard's trousers. His punishment was to be transformed into a toy, and now he is forced to track down the magician so he can be returned to normal. His adventures will take him to the moon and under the sea, introducing him to many fabulous - and dangerous - creatures.

Inspired by the loss of his own child's favourite toy, this charming tale was written by J.R.R. Tolkien long before The Hobbit, yet remained...more

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Apr 24, 2011 Elanor Lawrence rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 read.

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Feb 10, 2009 Audra rated it 4 of 5 stars

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!

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Sep 10, 2012 Lanica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, lanica-s-library, read-alouds-grade-school, read-alouds-middle-school, read-in-2012, recommend-for-middle-school-boys

I've read this book a few times before, but this is the first time reading it to my sons who just turned five a month ago. It's our first attempt at a bedtime story without pictures. They lie back and listen to the words with their eyes closed. So far...so good and we're on page 8 of 106. I hope they love it as much as I do.

LATER:
It amazes me how much they understand. I read it word for word - not knowing myself what is meant by some of the English phrasing, and yet the boys talk about Roverando...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Deb rated it 5 of 5 stars

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).

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About J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE, was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the high fantasy classic works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings .

Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English language and literature from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C.S. Lewis.

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More about J.R.R. Tolkien...

Books by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)

The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)

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Quotes from Roverandom

“Rover did not know in the least where the moon's path led to, and at present he was much too frightened and excited to ask, and anyway he was beginning to get used to extraordinary things happening to him.” — 7 people liked it

“He smelt cake.” — 7 people liked it

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