Every December, an envelope from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien's children. Inside would be a letter in strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful color drawing. The letters told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by the inventiveness of Tolkien's Father Christmas letters.

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 dig in the sand. 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 life. Roverandom, illustrated with Tolkien's own delightful drawings, is also available in an handsome trade paperback edition.

This is an expanded, 50th Anniversary edition of Tolkien's beloved classic story "Farmer Giles of Ham," complete with a map, the original story outline, the original first-edition illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and the author's notes for an unpublished sequel. "Farmer Giles of Ham" is a lighthearted satire for readers of all ages that tells the tale of a reluctant hero who must save his village from a dragon. It is a small gem of a tale that grows more delightful with each rereading.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo are masterpieces of a remote and exotic age -- the age of chivalry and wizards, knights and holy quests. Yet it is only in the unique artistry and imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien that the language, romance, and power of these great stories come to life for modern readers, in masterful and compelling translations.