Roverandom is the Tolkien children’s story featuring the dog Rover and the wizard Artaxerxes.
Tolkien began Roverandom in 1925 after his young son Michael lost a favorite toy dog during a holiday at Filey in Yorkshire. To comfort him, Tolkien invented a tale about a toy dog that is transformed and travels through magical locations, including the Moon and the sea.
The story remained unpublished during Tolkien’s lifetime. It was edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond and published in 1998, making it one of the later additions to the body of Tolkien’s children’s fiction.
Roverandom is sometimes confused with Tolkien’s other short children’s books, such as Mr. Bliss or Farmer Giles of Ham. Those works have different protagonists and settings. The wizard Artaxerxes is a distinctive clue because he is the magician responsible for Rover’s transformation.