J.R.R.Tolkien was a prolific storyteller to his children, though few of his early stories survive. Roverandom was a particular favourite, so much so that Tolkien wrote it out and even illustrated it himself. But for over 70 years it remained unpublished. Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, authors of the acclaimed J.R.R.Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, edited and introduced the book and so it was finally released in 1998. Now it is time for a new edition: a hardcover pocket Roverandom!

While on holiday in 1925, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog on the beach at Filey in Yorkshire. 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, was tolkien's first full-length children's book, written before The Hobbit.

Now, nearly 90 years later, the adventures of Rover - or, for reasons that become clear in the story, 'Roverandom' - are published in this delightful pocket hardback edition.

Rich in wit and wordplay, Roverandom is edited and introduced by Tolkien experts Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, and includes tolkien's own delightful illustrations.

Title: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Visual Companion

Publishers: HarperCollins
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Editors: Christina Skull and Wayne G. Hammond

Publication Date: 26 Sep 2013

Type: hardcover, 144 pages
ISBN-10: 0007523289
ISBN-13: 978-0007523283