Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
First Second (2017), 48 pages
Description
"A captivating picture book biography of a boy who imagined a world full of dragons and grew up to be beloved author J. R. R. Tolkien. John Ronald loved dragons. He liked to imagine dragons when he was alone, and with his friends, and especially when life got hard or sad. After his mother died and he had to live with a cold-hearted aunt, he looked for dragons. He searched for them at his boarding school. And when he fought in a Great War, he felt as if terrible, destructive dragons were everywhere. But he never actually found one, until one day, when he was a grown man but still very much a boy at heart, when he decided to create one of his own. This picture book biography introduces the beloved creator of Middle Earth and author of The Hobbit to a new generation of children who see magic in the world around them. "--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member MeganSchneider
J.R.R. Tolkein is to thank for my favorite books and movies of all time. My house holds two copies of each book and three copies of each movie. My father even has a first edition signed "Hobbit" that will be passed down to me. I actually fell in love with this book and the way it transitioned into
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the Hobbit. I could see why someone who strictly wanted to know about John Ronald would be disappointed by not having more information about him in general but I think it would done perfectly. I am off to buy a copy now! Show Less
LibraryThing member eduscapes
JOHN ROLAND’S DRAGONS by Caroline McAlister is a picture book telling the story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s life.
Young John Roland loved to dream of dragons and create secret languages. Through colorful illustrations and easy-to-read text, McAlister and illustrator Eliza Wheeler tell the story of how a
Librarians will find this picture book provides a nice introduction to Tolkien’s life for young children who may have heard about this famous books. Add it to the library’s growing collection of author biographies.
Published by Roaring Book Press, an imprint of Macmillan on March 21, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
Young John Roland loved to dream of dragons and create secret languages. Through colorful illustrations and easy-to-read text, McAlister and illustrator Eliza Wheeler tell the story of how a
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young boy’s fascinating with dragons led to the creation of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books. Through author and illustrator notes at the end of the book, readers gain insights into hidden elements of the picture book.Librarians will find this picture book provides a nice introduction to Tolkien’s life for young children who may have heard about this famous books. Add it to the library’s growing collection of author biographies.
Published by Roaring Book Press, an imprint of Macmillan on March 21, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
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LibraryThing member melodyreads
Delightful kids biography - make sure to read the author's notes.
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
A picture book comprising a deeply simplified biography of J.R.R. Tolkien from childhood through the thirties and the composition of The Hobbit. Lovely, lovely illustrations and a nice "quest for dragons" theme uniting the story of Tolkien's life. I may have to get a copy of this for the nieces in
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a few years, but I'm not passing on this one. It's lovely enough I'll hang on to it for my own collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member themulhern
Illustration, presentation, and notes about the illustrations fine. But narrative a little lacking. You want to think of the dragons as a synechdoche, but the book will not allow it.
LibraryThing member norbert.book
A nice homage to the life of JRR Tolkien
LibraryThing member nbmars
The author tells us that, as a young boy, John Ronald Tolkien, born in 1892, loved dragons. He loved reading about them, thinking about them, and even dreaming about them. His was a happy childhood until he was orphaned at age 12.
Dragons temporarily went out of his life. But eventually he grew up,
An Author’s Note at the end of the book fills in some background on Tolkien’s life. The illustrator, Eliza Wheeler, used ink and watercolor to fill the pages with both realism and magic. She includes an extensive note which provides indications of where, in her pictures, to find historical details she has included.
She also confides that she hid dragons and dragon-like shapes throughout the book, but these she leaves to the reader to discover.
Other additions at the end of the book include a catalog of Tolkien’s dragons, quotes by Tolkien about dragons, and a bibliography.
Evaluation: This picture book for young readers is a great way for parents to inspire kids to want to enter the fantasy world of Tolkien. The book not only promises there will be adventures including dragons, but a made-up language as well. (An entertaining discussion of Tolkien’s new words can be found here. I especially liked the remark by a critic in 1963, who clearly forgot about being young, and called the made-up words “insane.”)
After reading this book, I myself contemplated doing some re-reading! Who can resist that great opening line from The Hobbit, reproduced in this story: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
Dragons temporarily went out of his life. But eventually he grew up,
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married another orphan he met at his boarding house, served in the first World War, and got a job teaching at the University of Oxford. One day, he started making up stories to entertain his children during their winter school break about a “hobbit” named Bilbo Baggins. His four children loved the stories. As the stories expanded in scope, Tolkien took Bilbo on a quest to find dragons. The story culminates with a picture of Tolkien metaphorically shedding light on his magnificent fictional dragon Smaug. The Hobbit was published in 1937 and achieved worldwide success. Tolkien was thus encouraged to write “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.”An Author’s Note at the end of the book fills in some background on Tolkien’s life. The illustrator, Eliza Wheeler, used ink and watercolor to fill the pages with both realism and magic. She includes an extensive note which provides indications of where, in her pictures, to find historical details she has included.
She also confides that she hid dragons and dragon-like shapes throughout the book, but these she leaves to the reader to discover.
Other additions at the end of the book include a catalog of Tolkien’s dragons, quotes by Tolkien about dragons, and a bibliography.
Evaluation: This picture book for young readers is a great way for parents to inspire kids to want to enter the fantasy world of Tolkien. The book not only promises there will be adventures including dragons, but a made-up language as well. (An entertaining discussion of Tolkien’s new words can be found here. I especially liked the remark by a critic in 1963, who clearly forgot about being young, and called the made-up words “insane.”)
After reading this book, I myself contemplated doing some re-reading! Who can resist that great opening line from The Hobbit, reproduced in this story: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member Andy_DiMartino
Too cute!!!
LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan
That a lovely, basic biography of Tolkien. There wasn’t much to the story, just a general timeline and his hunt for dragons, but it worked. And the soft watercolor style illustrations were a perfect counter to the historial words. I really liked how at the end the illustrator explained how and
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what they choose to illustrate. Show Less
Awards
Triple Crown Awards (Nominee — 2020)
CCBC Choices (2018)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Book (Primary — 2018)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017-03-21
Physical description
48 p.; 9.41 inches
ISBN
1626720924 / 9781626720923
Local notes
John Ronald loved dragons. He liked to imagine dragons when he was alone, and with his friends, and especially when life got hard or sad. After his mother died and he had to live with a cold hearted aunt, he looked for dragons, He searched for them at his boarding school. And when he fought in a Great War, he felt as if terrible, destructive dragons were everywhere. But he never actually found one, until one day, when he was a grown man but still very much a boy at heart, when he decided to create one of his own.
A lovely biography of Tolkien.
Illustrated endpapers, debossed dragon on blue boards under the dustjacket.
A lovely biography of Tolkien.
Illustrated endpapers, debossed dragon on blue boards under the dustjacket.