Gathers book illustrations, posters, paintings, and calendar art by the popular American illustrator, and shares the artist's thoughts concerning his work

Best known for his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in British-occupied South Africa. His early life was full of action and adventure. Tolkien spent his childhood roaming the British countryside with his family and could read and write by age four. He was naturally gifted with languages and used this skill as a signals officer in World War I as well as in his fantasy writing. By creating alternate universes and inventing languages in his work he demonstrated that imaginary realms were not just for children. Fondly remembered as the “Father of High Fantasy,” Tolkien’s books have inspired blockbuster movies and legions of fans.

“Maguire’s work is melodic, symphonic, and beautiful; it is dejected and biting and brave. How great that people flock to these magical novels.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review Bestselling author Gregory Maguire’s remarkable series, The Wicked Years, comes full circle with this, his fourth and final excursion across a darker, richer, more complex landscape of “the magical land of Oz.” Out of Oz brilliantly reimagines L. Frank Baum’s world over the rainbow as wracked with social unrest—placing Glinda the good witch under house arrest and having the cowardly Lion on the lam from the law as the Emerald City prepares to make war on Munchkinland. Even Dorothy makes a triumphant return in Maguire’s magnificent Oz finale—tying up every loose green end of the series he began with his classic Wicked, the basis for the smash hit Broadway musical.

Three favorite classics-Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz-make this collection an excellent gift for any child. Beautifully illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt, these well-loved stories follow Pinocchio, as he tries to become a real boy; tumbles down a rabbit hole with Alice; and skips down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy and her friends. Colorful and engaging, this collection will warm the hearts of readers young and old, all at a bargain price.

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work in fantasy published under the name Lord Dunsany. More than eighty books of his work were published, and his oeuvre includes hundreds of short stories, as well as successful plays, novels and essays. Born to one of the oldest titles in the Irish peerage, he lived much of his life at perhaps Ireland's longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara, received an honourary doctorate from Trinity College, and died in Dublin.

Long before Judy Garland sang Over the Rainbow, the denizens of Oz had already captivated the American reading public. The quintessential American fairy tale, L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has had a singular influence on our culture since it first appeared in 1900. Yet, as Michael Riley shows, Baum's achievement went far beyond this one book, or even the 13 others he wrote about that magic kingdom.

Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in a strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or painting. The letters were from Father Christmas. They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone North Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house into the dining room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house, and many more. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by Tolkien’s inventiveness in this classic holiday treat.

Although the Brothers Hildebrandt are best known to the public as the illustrators of J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, they have created an array of unique paintings for the work many science fiction and fantasy writers. Here in forty color reproductions and numerous black and white illustrations, is the best of their work.

Second Oz book; Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are back with hero named Tip. 120 black-and-white, 16 full-color illustrations.

A timely critical analysis of J. R. R. Tolkien's masterful trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, addresses the social and political structure of Middle-earth, its nature and ecology, and the spirituality and ethics of Tolkien's world.