John Ronald's Dragons: The Story of J. R. R. Tolkien
by Caroline McAlister (Author) Eliza Wheeler (Illustrator)
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. John Ronald's Dragons, a picture book biography by Caroline McAlister and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, introduces the beloved creator of Middle Earth and author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to a new generation of children who see magic in the world around them.
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School Library Journal
Gr 1-4--McAlister's picture book introduction to the life of J.R.R. Tolkien (whom she calls John Ronald) is written in simple, descriptive language--a fragment to six short sentences per page or spread. ("John Ronald was a boy who loved horses. And trees. And strange sounding words.") Critical to John Ronald's life were the "stillness, beauty, and peace" of the Catholic Church; his love of English (coming up with new languages and using them to write stories); his lifelong school friends who shared his love of literature; and his dreams of dragons and other fantastical creatures that inhabited the books read to him and his brother by their mother, who died when John Ronald was 12. After marrying, then fighting in the trenches during World War I, Tolkien taught at Oxford University, where he gave lectures, went to meetings, tutored students, and "graded many, many, exams." The world of the Hobbit and his adventures, created for Tolkien's own children, became a book in 1937. Wheeler's pencil-detailed paintings in subdued greens and yellows effectively portray Tolkien's quiet life and his ability to imagine magical creatures and places (Misty Mountains, Mirkwood Forest) in the countryside around his home. The appended illustrator's note points out elements in the pictures not mentioned in the text. An author's note offers more sophisticated facts; a bibliography lists Tolkien biographies for adults.
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Publishers Weekly
The dragons of imagination are always there, but sometimes it takes time for them to breathe fire--that's what McAlister (Holy Mole!) suggests in this thoughtful look at the creative development of John Ronald, aka J.R.R. Tolkien. Reflecting Ronald's lifelong preoccupation with dragons, Wheeler's (This Is Our Baby, Born Today) illustrations blend hints of the fantastical and the mundane--chimney plumes and steam from a young Ronald's oatmeal mimic the smoke curling from an imagined dragon's nostrils. McAlister moves briskly through Ronald's life, touching on the influences of his faith, military service, and education before he hit upon the invention of a hobbit, one who would lead him all the way to "a dragon named Smaug." It's an ideal lead-in to family readings of The Hobbit. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Jennifer Rofe, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"The story of a boy who dreamed of dragons and found a way to bring them to life. Tolkien grows from dapper lad to dapper young man in Wheeler's cleanly drawn scenes..." —Kirkus Reviews
"An imaginative and informative look at this beloved author." —Booklist
..".beautifully illustrated introduction to Tolkien's life for younger readers..." —School Library Journal
"This picture-book biography of J. R. R. Tolkien shows the roots of many themes later found in The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy." —Horn Book
"It's an ideal lead-in to family readings of The Hobbit." —Publisher's Weekly
Caroline McAlister teaches English at Guilford College and every year takes students to Oxford, England, to study fantasy in the setting where C.S. Lewis lived and wrote. She is the author of John Ronald's Dragons: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. Caroline lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Jessica Lanan spent her childhood dreaming of finding a secret door to a magical world. She finally found her Narnia in the blank page, where anything that can be imagined can be brought to life. Jessica is the illustrator of Curtis Manley's Just Right: Searching for the Goldlilocks Planet. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
JNF052030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Science | Folklore & Mythology
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiograp
Authors, English
Tolkien, J. R. R
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Social Science / Folklo
