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Title: Letters from Father Christmas, Revised Edition by J. R. R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0-618-00937-X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: December, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: a stunningly beautiful book
Comment: "Letters From Father Christmas" is stunningly beautiful. I have no words to describe how wonderful this book is. It is a great book for the Christmas season.
"Letters From Father Christmas" is a collection of the Letters that J.R.R. Tolkien's children received from Father Christmas (what they call Santa in England) during the over twenty years between 1920 and 1943.
Each letter is reprinted along with their accompanying illustrations. Father Christmas' letters are beautiful in their own right, but I am blown away by his illustrations. Some of this art deserves to be in a museum.
The letters each tell a story. The North Polar Bear (Santa's friend and assistant) figures prominently in these tales. Other characters (elves, goblins, the snow man--who is Father Christmas's gardener, and the man in the moon) add depth and humor to these tales from the North.
Some of these letters had my daughter rolling with laughter as we read them together. They are quite funny no matter what age you happen to be (the Polar Bear's commentaries had me laughing).
This is a great book. Readers cannot fail to be moved by these letters and stories. I give "Letters From Father Christmas" my highest recommendation.
Rating: 3
Summary: Great children's stories. Make sure to buy the new edition!
Comment: It is not surprising the creator of Middle Earth, and the father of the fantasy genre, would create such an elaborate, creative collection of Christmas stories for his children. This book is a nice addition to my library, as it contains the text of the letters, as well as Tolkien's hand-drawn illustrations and North Pole post markings.
While this book does not relate to his Middle Earth universe, it is easy to recognize the origin of some of its characters. The goblin attack on Santa's cellar presages the Goblin-Elf wars in Lord of the Rings. Santa's elf-secretary Ilbereth is the obvious progenitor of the ancient elf-queen Elbereth. We even get a glimpse of elvish writing and the goblin alphabet!
If you have the chance, buy the new revised version of this book. I have the 1991 reissue edition. It is only 48 pages long, and omits the letters from 1920 - 1924 and from 1939-1942 . The new edition is one hundred pages longer and contains previously unpublished material.
Rating: 4
Summary: Charming Christmas letters
Comment: J.R.R. Tolkien was best known for his studies in philology (study of language) and epic fantasy novels. But Tolkien was also the proud dad of four kids -- and he didn't just read "Hobbit" to them at bedtime. He also, over the course of several years, wrote and illustrated whimsical letters from Father Christmas at the North Pole, here compiled into an unusually charming book.
In these letters, Father Christmas kept the Tolkien children updated with stories about the caves at the North Pole, the goblins, the gnomes, the elves, underground fights and firework explosions, cave drawings, and the goofy slapstick antics of the North Polar bear. (When Father Christmas couldn't write, his Elvish secretary filled in)
"Father Christmas's" letters are really, genuinely sweet. Maybe it's because they were being given to real kids that they didn't end up cloying or cutesy. And of course, Tolkien's detailed, colorful, fantastical, intricate pictures are what make the letters come alive; you can imagine the Tolkien kids eagerly examining the pictures as well as the written words.
Tolkien also sprinkles the stories with things that his kids were probably intrigued by, like prehistoric cave paintings, fireworks, and a comic bear who causes all kinds of mayhem. And fans of Tolkien's fantasy works will probably enjoy checking out things like the invented Elf language (as written by the secretary Ilbereth) and goblin language.
"Letters From Father Christmas" won't exactly make you believe in Santa Claus again, but it is one of the prettiest and most charming Christmas picture books out there. Definitely recommended -- and not just for Tolkien fans too.
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Title: Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien, Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull ISBN: 0395898714 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Father Christmas Letters Mini-Book by J. R. R. Tolkien ISBN: 0395959195 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter ISBN: 0618056998 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Bilbo's Last Song: (At the Grey Havens) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Pauline Baynes ISBN: 0375823735 Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Farmer Giles of Ham : The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame, Count of Worminghall, and King of the Little Kingdom by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond ISBN: 0618009361 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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