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I don't review books I don't like!
*****= An all-time
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Smith of Wooton Major and Farmer Giles of Hamby J. R. R. TolkienReviewed March 14, 2003. Ballantine Books, New York, 1969. 156 pages. A Sonderbooks’ Stand-out of 2003: #5, Young Adult and Children's Fantasy Old Favorites I recently found this book in the Vogelweh Bookmark, in the same edition as the one I had owned when I was a kid. This little paperback is a collection of two longish stories written by Tolkien. This book is perfect for those who want more of Tolkien. The stories aren’t at all as complicated as The Lord of the Rings, but Tolkien’s grand storytelling style, as used in The Hobbit, is there to enjoy. The first story, “Smith of Wooton Major,” tells about a boy given the gift of being able to visit Faerie. The second story, “Farmer Giles,” is even better. It tells about a farmer who scares away a giant and then is asked to fight a dragon. The dragon doesn’t want to be killed, but he is willing to bargain. These are fun stories and worked well for our family as read-alouds. I like the drawings, by the same person who illustrated the original editions of The Chronicles of Narnia. Review of another book by J. R. R. Tolkien:
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Book Reviews
by Sondra Eklund