Uma bela história infantil, para consolar e entreter todos aqueles que perderam um cachorrinho e fazê-los especular sobre o paradeiro e aventuras do bichano sumido. Em uma terra plana perto de você um cachorro morde um mago adoravelmente rabugento e é transformado em um brinquedo. Daí Roverandom encontra outros mágicos, dragões e serpentes, vai à lua e ao mar. Especialmente interessante é o caráter ambíguo e egocêntrico dos magos, e a caracterização dos três cachorros, ao interagirem entre si. ( )

This is a cute little story. Not the usual epic WOW you expect from Tolkien, but it is fun to read something different by him. This would be a great one to read with your kids. ( )

Grappig verhaal dat Tolkien heeft bedacht en opgeschreven voor zijn kinderen Het boek heeft 3 delen. De inleiding (lang) vertelt over het ontstaan van het verhaal met jaartallen, zekerheden en deducties, dan volgt het werkelijke verhaal, dat aardig is en daarna een heel lang stuk met uitleg over sommige zinnen of aanwijzingen die in het verhaal voorkomen. Leuk om te lezen. ( )

I'm ashamed to admit it took me years to read Roverandom, but I'm so glad I finally did. I actually started the book years ago at the repeated insistence of my now-best friend, but I only made it a third of the way through before it went back to the library. I wasn't interested enough to check it out again and finish it then, though I always meant to. As a teenager, I just wasn't very interested in any Tolkien except Middle-earth, even though I was a die-hard Tolkien fan and was very much obsessed with Middle-earth. Tolkien was and still is my very favorite, so I really should have read Roverandom sooner than this.

But I did at last! It happened because I introduced my little sister to Tolkien for the first time by beginning our read-aloud of The Hobbit. She was head over heels in love with it from the first page, and since she loves animals and fantasy, I knew she would like Roverandom. As soon as I told her about the book, she was so excited to read it, and I resolved to finally read the whole thing myself as well. When I got it for her, she loved it, and she even read the whole thing with excitement and without losing interest,which is unusual for her attention span. That is a testament to how good the book is. All that to say . . . my little sister, the budding new Tolkien fan, beat me, the veteran! Wow. *smiles sheepishly*

But I did read it, from the beginning, and I finished it this time! And unlike before, I enjoyed and appreciated it as much as it deserves!

Things I liked:

-I loved the dog Roverandom so very much. He's so sweet, and I enjoyed his point of view and his way of thinking about his experiences and acquaintances. And I loved seeing him grow up and become wiser as the story goes on.
-I enjoyed the other characters very much as well - the sweet, wise, cantankerous, strange, annoying, and foolish characters alike. I especially loved Little Boy Two and the Man in the Moon. Also, Psamathos and, by the end, Artaxerxes.
-I laughed or smiled almost constantly while reading the book. I loved the wry wit, hilarious satire, tongue-in-cheek references and parodies, and comical events and people. The amusing, clever humor throughout was one of my very favorite things about the book. I love that it has a wide range of humor that do you like children and adults alike, as well as making adults of the time laugh at references a child would not understand. I enjoyed the notes at the back that helped me understand all the hilarious references to history and to the contemporary culture Tolkien lived in.
-All the parts with Roverandom and his little boy, and their love for and devotion to one another. So much sweetness!
-The whole feel and heart and theme of the book. It is so utterly sweet and golden and wonderful and heartwarming!! It was such a comforting read, especially when I wasn't feeling well.
-Illustrations by Tolkien himself. I have always adored his artwork for his books and his beautiful style of illustration. And his handwriting!
-Some of the characters were cold, difficult, unhelpful, and unkind toward Rover, just exactly like real life, and written in such a skilled and rare way. I appreciated so much how humorously perceptive of and accurate to real life Tolkien's portrayal was. And sweet Roverandom's downcast reaction to the cold shoulders and conflict was so sweet and relatable!
-The sea-dog's tale of his own origin and adventures, since I love Vikings and history - and I love Tolkien's far greater love of them both. And the sea-dog himself was so sweet and wise, especially his devotion to his master
-The wizards, as I mentioned before, and also the relationships and humorous conflict between them. It made me laugh hard during the part when one wizard was telling another wizard about the third wizard's foolish shenanigans.
-The writing style, which was both exquisite and like a story being told aloud, and the lovely descriptions.
-Tolkien's insertion of himself and his family at the center of the book. It is so sweet!! I adore the story behind the book - that he told the tale to his sons to comfort his son Michael after the loss of his toy dog at the seaside. The roots of the tale are very evident in even the settings of the story.
-The perfect, joyous ending! I guessed and hoped that the story would end a certain way, and it did!
-There was literally nothing I didn't like!

All in all, Roverandom is a wonderful, humorous, sweet, and gently magical tale that will appeal to Tolkien fans and non-Tolkien fans alike. It makes a wonderful read-aloud for parents to read to children of any age, even very young children, and it can be enjoyed by anyone, from young children to adults.

Updated Rating: I'm raising my star rating from 4 stars to at least 4.5 stars, because in the few months since I've read it, this book has remained fabulous in my memory. There was really nothing to keep it from being a very high rating - it's a great book, well worthy of Tolkien's caliber, and super sweet. Some books are forgettable, and the star rating drops after a few months - but it's the opposite with this one. ( )

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 visits the seashore, the moon, and under the sea. 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 wonder).

Thankfully, the book is relatively short since it does get a bit repetitive. In a nod to his other works, Tolkien has Elvenhome with elves on a far shore that nobody is supposed to see (but Rover gets a peek thanks to a helpful whale).

The narrator, Derek Jacobi, who has narrated other Tolkien works (like [b:Letters from Father Christmas|7331|Letters from Father Christmas|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347764269s/7331.jpg|3462747]) does another excellent job. I only wish they didn't have the stupid music.

Overall, it's a bit simplistic, but since he wrote it to cheer his son up after he lost his toy dog at the beach, it kind of works. ( )