How exciting to hear all these J. R. R. Tolkien fairy tales on audio book! I feel like I am back in my childhood with my mother reading to me. The difference in this audio book however, is that there are different voices for characters and background sounds and music, thus making it more of a production than just a normal audio book read. The stories are enchanting, while intelligent of course, and it is so good to hear more from a master storyteller like Tolkien. I was not familiar with any of them so each one is a treat.
FARMER GILES OF HAM would be the story I would most like my students to listen to. It is light and has a grand, although not so willing, hero. It has the requisite dragon and brave knights who should slay him in ordinary tales, but in Tolkein we don't look for ordinary. Here we find a chubby farmer who seems to be the only one who can do battle with the dragon. There is also a talking dog that the students would enjoy. It is charming and funny and one people of all ages would enjoy.
SMITH OF WOOTTON MAJOR delightfully tells about a special gift to a not so special person and what this gift does for him. I think this might have been my favorite but then again, each time I listen to the wonderfully written words of Tolkein, I find more in the stories to like and change my mind again. This is an audio book, or if you get the book, that you will read and read again and be anxious to share with others as I was, and as I did, and I am sure will continue to do for years to come!
Tales 1-2 of 4
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A little more info:
Tales from the Perilous Realm
Four dramatised stories, each reflecting an aspect of what Tolkien himself called 'The Perilous Realm of Faerie'. Dragons, magic and Hobbits abound in Tolkien's wonderful adventures.
Farmer Giles of Ham
Full of wit and humor and set in the days of giants and dragons, it tells the tale of a reluctant hero who saves his village from the dragon Chrysophylax.
Cast and Credits
Tolkien - Michael Hordern
Farmer Giles - Brian Blessed
Garm - Jonathon Tafler
The Giant - Brian Sibley
Chrysophylax - Stephen Thorne
with
Jonathan Adams, Mathew Morgan, Nichola Murchie, Joanna Wake, John Webb
Smith of Wootton Major
Tells of baking a Great Cake to mark the Feast of Good Children and the magical events that follow.
Cast and Credits
Tolkien - Michael Hordern
Smith - Paul Copley
Nokes - James Grout
The Faerie King - John McGlynn
with
Jonathan Adams, Judy Bennett, Chris Cook, Rachel Crocker, Nichola Murchie, Jill Shilling, Jenny Smythe, Melinda Walker, Ann Windsor
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Tom battles through many adventures with the Hobbits, Frodo Baggins, Merry and Pippin.
Cast and Credits
Tolkien - Michael Hordern
Tom - Ian Hogg
Frodo - Nigel Planer
Merry - Mathew Morgan
Pippin - David Learner
Sam - Jonathan Adams
Goldberry - Sorcha Cusack
Old Man Willow - John Church
Leaf by Niggle
The adventures of a painter trying to capture a tree on canvas.
Cast and Credits
Tolkien - Michael Hordern
Niggle - Alfred Molina
Parish - John Fleming
with
Jonathan Adams, David Holt, Melanie Hudson, Mathew Morgan, Joanna Wake, Melinda Walker
Music by Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Produced by John Taylor
One of the "stories" actually contains a couple of long poems as well as some others and I enjoyed them very much. It was a nice change of pace in THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL. I think this one can be listened to many times to get more out of each poem as you listen again and again. I think "The Shadow Bride" can be discussed more than the others, as it seems to have a deeper, not so light, feel to it.
LEAF BY NIGGLE is a tale with a much deeper meaning to it. The memorable presentation brings life and death into it in subtle ways, which make for a second listening, or third, to try and see what Tolkein really meant by the subtle use of symbolism in the tale. All of this in what in simpler terms might just be about an artist who is painting a picture of a tree.
Tales 3-4 of 4
AudioBookJRRTolkienTalesFromThePerilousRealm34TheAdventuresOfTomBom...
AudioBookJRRTolkienTalesFromThePerilousRealm44LeafByNiggle.mp3