Most of these poems are in fact short fairy tales – folk fairy tale rhymes of Middle Earth. Some of them are merry – others are a bit sad, like “The Sea-Bell” or “The Last Ship”, but all of them charming. My personal favourite is “Perry-the-Winkle” – a funny tale about an unusual friendship between a troll and a hobbit.

Tolkien’s poems are simple, but musical; his rhyme sings. He makes them all alive – the Princess Mee, the Lonely Troll who could cook better than any hobbit, the huge Oliphaunt, the old king sitting on his throne – and these bits of lore make his imaginary world – Middle Earth – still more real. I can almost hear a guitar playing at the background as I read these short pieces over and over again. I can visualise Frodo – alone in the Undying Lands – singing them and crying secretly for the homeland he left behind.

Some of those poems are simple enough to read to kids; others won’t be easy for kids to understand, but will make a grown-up heart cry with sadness and joy at once. Tolkien was – apart from everything else – an extraordinary poet.