"First, let me introduce you to yourself" (Beware RotE Spoilers)

[FoolishGirl]

Oh, I wouldn't say Tolkien was a prude. One needs only to look at the Silmarillion and some other tales from the elder days and keep one's eyes open for the references... It's a different writing style from what we're used to these days, but romance and sex are definitely included.

FoolishGirl - how about Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain or Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising books? And the first Earthsea book by Ursula LeGuin - or perhaps all of them, it depends a lot on the child I think.

I would agree that Tolkien is not so much prudish as reserved. Thanks for the recommedations. I have not read Alexander or Cooper so will have to check those out (one of the great things about having a kid is catching up on books I missed the first time around). I just so happen to be reading Le Guin's Earthsea books for the first time right now. I got to the chapter called "School for Wizards" and thought, aha, here's what inspired JK Rowling.