I happened across this book when I was at the library. Being a big fan of the Middle Earth works of Tolkien, I picked it up. The plus of the book - it has Tolkien's comfortable way of telling a story. His pacing just makes you feel like you should settle in somewhere comfortable with a cup of hot tea and relax.

This story was written for his children and while I think it's a wonderful piece to be read if you're writing it for your own children. But, I felt it fell a little short as a story that should have been published. ( )

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! ( )

My favorite. I think that this book was over looked and LoTR got all the credit. Granted, I love LoTR, but this book is fantastic. ( )

A charming tale about young dog Rover and his adventures. He bites the trousers of magician Artaxerxes who turns him into a toy dog as punnishment. He shrinks in size as does his bark and he is stuck in a begging position. He is bought by a mother to give to her son Two, but he falls out of his pocket on day on the beach. The sand wizard Psamathos gets super fast seagul Mew to fly him to the moon down the silver pathway it's light leaves to meet the Man-on-the-Moon (another magician) and his moon dog Rover. As the dogs share their name, they change Rover's (the main character) to Roverandom.

On the moon they have many adventures together as Roverandom is given wings to fly about with. They have problems with the fearsome White Dragon who lives on the moon and causes eclipses of the moon as well as sometimes turning it red. Eventually Roverandom is sent back to earth to see Artaxerxes to change him back to his regular dog form. Artaxerxes has married a mer-maiden (one of the mer-kings daughters) and is living under the sea. Whale Uin takes Roverandom under the sea in his belly where he meets another dog called Rover, this time a mer-dog. They have many more adventures under the sea waiting for Artaxeres to find the time to change Roverandom back including an incident with the giant sea-serpent who sleeps not far from the mer-kings castle. Roverandom is eventually changed back into a proper dog and travels home to find Two.

This was a lovely tale based on an incident when Tolkien's second son lost his favourite toy dog at the beach one day on a family holiday. Lots of parallels to The Hobbit can be seen (the dragon, the spiders on the moon and the three magicians have Gandalf like qualities) and I definitely recommend it as a bit of light fun and happy reading. ( )

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