In 1925, while on vacation with his family on the Yorkshire coast, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his favorite toy, a little lead dog he was reluctant to put down even to play on the beach. To console and distract him, his father, J.R.R. Tolkien, improvised a story-the story of Rover, a real dog magically transformed into a toy, who, after many fantastic adventures in search of the wizard who wronged him, at last wins back his doggy life. This charming tale, peopled by a terrible dragon and a wise old whale, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon, was a Tolkien family favorite and went through several typewritten drafts over the years. In 1936, Tolkien submitted it to his British publishers as a possible follow up to The Hobbit. What his publishers really wanted, however was a sequel, so he set aside this little book to begin his masterwork, The Lord of the Rings.

Now, more than seventy years after it was written, the story of Rover—or, as the Man-in-the-Moon fondly called him, Roverandom—is published at last, together with five illustrations by the author. Rich in wit and wordplay, crowded with thrilling and humorous incident, Roverandom will delight not only Tolkien's countless admirers but anyone who loves a rollicking yarn well told.

From the dust jacket