When I was in elementary school, I made no secret of my passion for
Middle-earth and its inhabitants. In first grade, I begged to stay in
from recess so I could sit at my desk and draw portraits of Bilbo
Baggins. (These tended to look suspiciously like Mercer Mayer’s Little
Critter; apparently hairy feet were not enough for me.) In third grade, I
cheered when our reading textbook included Sam’s poem about oliphaunts.
In fifth grade, I dressed up as Bilbo, complete with pipe and padded
stomach, for the class’s wax museum. That same year I wrote a three-page
poem about The Lord of the Rings and brought it in to school to show my teacher.
Both of these fifth-grade incidents caught the attention of the middle
school English teacher, Mrs. Lucht, an avid Tolkien fan herself. Sixth
grade proved to be an especially productive year for me. Mrs. Lucht let
me direct the class in a play I had written, and that resulted in my
getting written up as a “Can-Do Kid” in the newspaper. At the annual
awards assembly on the last day of school, Mrs. Lucht presented me with a
special gift: A Hobbit’s Journal, a sturdy paperback tome filled with Middle-earth illustrations and plenty of room for writing.
As is my unfortunate custom with journals, especially one this nice, I
kept it secret and safe as the Ring without marking more than half a
dozen pages. But when a pile of them showed up in the bargain bin at the
bookstore where I work, I couldn’t resist picking up a couple more. I
may give one to another Hobbit-loving friend, but the other I’ll keep
for myself. Maybe one day I’ll fill them both.
Though this
journal originally sold for $5.95, I only paid two dollars this time
around. It’s a bargain even at the original price. Each page is heavy
and resembles an old piece of parchment. There are no lines to write on,
making things a bit tricky if your writing tends to slant as mine does,
but the unlined pages allow for more creativity. When my boss at work
looked at one of the journals, she said her daughter would enjoy trying
to copy the drawings on each page. A Hobbit’s Journal is equally
accommodating to writing and drawing, and if you’re inclined to give
Middle-earth script a try, this is the ideal space in which to practice.
The book’s cover features a drably colored illustration of
the Fellowship making its way from Rivendell. It’s a lovely drawing with
a different feel to it than the rest of the drawings in the book, which
are all very detailed sepia-tone line drawings. All have a very soft
sense about them, as though they might dissipate altogether if you leave
them for a moment. Accompanying the drawings are labels written in
exquisite letters that could have been penned by a hobbit’s hand. They
heighten the aesthetic quality of an already gorgeous book.
The book begins with a brief history fabricated by the illustrator,
Michael Green, explaining that Samwise, after setting about the task of
completing Frodo’s account of their quest, had decided that drawing his
companions and their adventures might finish the story more effectively
than words. Finding himself lacking in the required talents, he sought
an artist to whom he could dictate the story, and Green traveled to
Hobbiton to offer his services, leaving Sam so satisfied with the result
that he couldn’t bear to sully the pages with his simple words. The
introduction does seem a tad self-congratulatory, but I suppose that can
be forgiven. After all, I’ve barely been able to bring myself to do any
writing in the journal myself.
Most of the characters in Lord of the Rings
have a place here; I wish more of the locales did as well. This is a
very talented artist, and I would have enjoyed seeing his
interpretations of such Middle-earth stops as Hobbiton, Rivendell, and
the Grey Havens. The characters are beautifully rendered, though there
are choices I find a bit perplexing. The elderly Sam is made to look
like Santa Claus, and Elrond looks too much like a human monarch. The
position of his hair does not allow his ears to be seen, and, like Sam,
he has a significant amount of facial hair, which is inappropriate for
both hobbits and elves. Meanwhile, a picture of Arwen portrays her idly
offering a flower to a unicorn. Now, I love unicorns, but I can’t recall
that Tolkien ever mentioned them as having a place in Middle-earth.
Somehow, I can’t imagine them there, so I found this illustration
jarring.
For the most part, though, the drawings are very
pleasing. I particularly like the Hobbits and Gandalf, whose
personalities come across very effectively. I’m also very fond of the
final page, which features a quietly smoldering mountain surrounded by
vegetation and approached by several birds in flight. The page is topped
with the words “In the end, the shadow is but a passing thing,” a quote
from the moment towards the end of the novel when the sight of
Middle-earth’s most sacred star instills in Sam a powerful sense of
hope.
For Lord of the Rings fans, this little book is a
treasure not to be missed. Whether or not you use it for its intended
purpose, the drawings make the pages worth perusing time and again. And
for the price, you might as well pick up a spare. Who knows when it
might come in handy?
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