Thursday, January 1, 2009

Book Review : Roverandom

Author: John Ronald Reul Tolkien
Review by Lauren Tatum, 12 years old
October 12-13, 2003

Roverandom takes place once upon a time in England. The main character in this story is Rover (Roverandom). The other main characters are Artaxerxes, Psamathos, the Man-in-the-Moon, the moon-dog Rover, Mew, Two, and the mer-dog Rover.

The conflict was that Rover (Roverandom) was turned into a toy dog by the old magician Artaxerxes, and then sold to a little boy named Two. Rover then runs away hoping to be free but then runs into the wizard Psamathos who sends Roverandom on many journeys and he meets many new friends. But Rover longs to become a real dog again and hopes to find the magician.

My favorite character probably was the Man-in-the-Moon's dog Rover because he kept Roverandom company while on the Moon, even though they argued some. And because it is very unusual for a dog to live on the moon so it makes Rover extra special to me. I think this is a fun little book that all ages would enjoy. Tolkien orginally wrote Roverandom70 years ago to comfort his 4-year-old son Michael who lost his favorite toy dog on the beach. Tolkien started to write this book after The Hobbit was published, and he stopped to begin writing The Lord of the Rings. So in 1998 Roverandom was finally published. This book would make a great read aloud book for kids and adults of all ages to enjoy.

"I am sorry to say that Rover immediately bit his (the wizards) trousers, and tore out quite a piece. Perhaps he also tore out a piece of the wizard. Anyway the old man suddenly turned round very angry and shouted:

'Idiot! Go and be a toy!' " -- page 4 from Roverandom

Other Books J. R. R. Tolkien Wrote
The Silmarillion
The Hobbit, 1937
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King, 1965

PLUS:
18 Short Stories

Adwards won

International Fantasy adward, 1957 Royal Society of Literature Benson medal, 1966 Foreign Book prizee, 1973 World Science Fiction Convention Gandalf adward, 1974 Hugo adward, 1978

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