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JRR Tolkien’s grandson collaborates with Charles Dickens descendant to produce two new verse fantasy books for children

Thames River Press, an imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company, have announced the publication of two narrative fantasy books for children, Rainbow and Wish. Michael Tolkien is a British poet and the eldest grandson of the well-loved author of The Lord of the Rings. He sits on the board of the Tolkien Company and has published several volumes of poetry, and now two fantasy tales for children.
 
The grandson of The Hobbit author was introduced to the tales of Florence Bone (1875–1971) as a child, and later read them to his own children. His desire to pay tribute to a now nearly-forgotten author led him to, as he says, "recreate the spirit of the original in new dress" and can be seen in his new narrative verse works Rainbow and Wish.
 
Rainbow follows the journey of its heroine Grace as she explores the wonder of the natural world and tries to complete her journey to beyond the rainbow. Wish is a timeless story that weaves adventure, humour and vivid characterisation into a subtle moral tale as it tells the story of two children who set out to defeat a cunning enchanter who has cast their valley into shadow. These vivid reimaginings of children’s tales are accompanied by beautiful drawings and will appeal to children from the age of eight onwards – as well as to their parents.
 
The audiobook version will be available for both books as well. The audio version of Wish is narrated by Gerald Dickens, actor and descendant of Charles Dickens. Gerald Dickens described Wish as a “timeless story, which children will enjoy for years to come. Michael Tolkien has brought it to life in narrative verse.”
 
The two stories are to be published in autumn, after a launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the non-English language rights will soon be available for sale.

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