Farmer Giles of Ham & Other Stories

Rating:
Summary: A worthy reader of a worthy book
Review: "Farmer Giles of Ham" is vintage Tolkien encapsulated. Ham is a farmer who owns a cowardly dog named Gorm. The two of them set out to dispose of a dragon named Chrysophylax who is terrorizing the shire. They do defeat Chrysophylax, but how? Well, you have to listen to Sir Derek Jacobi (best known in the USA as the stammering Emperor Claudius in the Masterpiece Theatre series of the '70s; also as Brother Cadfael in The Cadfael Mysteries) read you the story, as he does with the same elegance he brings to all his performances. Sir Derek is a true master of the spoken word. The combination of a writer like Professor Tolkien and a reader like Sir Derek is truly rare and wonderful. And the delight does not stop with "Farmer Giles"; the stories in this little book abound with imagination and excellence.

Rating:
Summary: A worthy reader of a worthy book
Review: "Farmer Giles of Ham" is vintage Tolkien encapsulated. Ham is a farmer who owns a cowardly dog named Gorm. The two of them set out to dispose of a dragon named Chrysophylax who is terrorizing the shire. They do defeat Chrysophylax, but how? Well, you have to listen to Sir Derek Jacobi (best known in the USA as the stammering Emperor Claudius in the Masterpiece Theatre series of the '70s; also as Brother Cadfael in The Cadfael Mysteries) read you the story, as he does with the same elegance he brings to all his performances. Sir Derek is a true master of the spoken word. The combination of a writer like Professor Tolkien and a reader like Sir Derek is truly rare and wonderful. And the delight does not stop with "Farmer Giles"; the stories in this little book abound with imagination and excellence.

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Collection of Stories For Kids of Every Age
Review: The first of the three stories in this collection is a delightful fairy tale set in the days when giants and dragons were the enemies and twonspeople like Farmer Giles were the heroes. Derek Jacobi does a superb job performing not only as the farmer himself and his wife, but also the couple's dog and the rest of the characters. One would not also not expect to find a dragon with as colorful a name as Chrysopholax, since the last time I met a dragon in one of Tolkein's stories, it was Smaug, and he casually remarked to hobbit Bilbo Baggins,''I don't remember smelling you before!'' The other two tales in this collection are Smith of Wooton Major,and Leaf by Niggle. Knowing what a magnificent job Derek Jacobi has done bringing Shakespeare to life and proving to most of us that Shakespeare was meant to be enjoyed by everyone, you can rest assured in the thought that he has done a similar, exemplary feat with Tolkein! I own, by the way, two other stories written by Tolkein and narrated by Jacobi himself--Letters From Father Christmas and Roverandom. Do yourself a favor and indulge your inner child with these stories!

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Collection of Stories For Kids of Every Age
Review: The first of the three stories in this collection is a delightful fairy tale set in the days when giants and dragons were the enemies and twonspeople like Farmer Giles were the heroes. Derek Jacobi does a superb job performing not only as the farmer himself and his wife, but also the couple's dog and the rest of the characters. One would not also not expect to find a dragon with as colorful a name as Chrysopholax, since the last time I met a dragon in one of Tolkein's stories, it was Smaug, and he casually remarked to hobbit Bilbo Baggins,''I don't remember smelling you before!'' The other two tales in this collection are Smith of Wooton Major,and Leaf by Niggle. Knowing what a magnificent job Derek Jacobi has done bringing Shakespeare to life and proving to most of us that Shakespeare was meant to be enjoyed by everyone, you can rest assured in the thought that he has done a similar, exemplary feat with Tolkein! I own, by the way, two other stories written by Tolkein and narrated by Jacobi himself--Letters From Father Christmas and Roverandom. Do yourself a favor and indulge your inner child with these stories!