The Hobbit, or There and Back Again in 100 books to read before you die

Mar 05, 2013 Katy Kelly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Re-read with my son, we enjoyed the adventure.

4.5 stars.

I've read it before, and now, with a nearly 8-year-old, I listened to this over a week of car journeys. My son, I thought, might give up on it, losing interest. But he surprised me completely by falling absolutely under the spell of Middle Earth, hearing the details, names, battles, escapes.

To the adult listener, this was Lord of the Rings simplified for a younger audience - the coming of the wizard and beginning of a quest, a journey with Re-read with my son, we enjoyed the adventure.

4.5 stars.

I've read it before, and now, with a nearly 8-year-old, I listened to this over a week of car journeys. My son, I thought, might give up on it, losing interest. But he surprised me completely by falling absolutely under the spell of Middle Earth, hearing the details, names, battles, escapes.

To the adult listener, this was Lord of the Rings simplified for a younger audience - the coming of the wizard and beginning of a quest, a journey with many dangers, and final return, somewhat changed to a starting point also altered.

Bilbo is a reluctant adventurer, I could see my son identified with his worries and need for home comforts, but having also read the first four Harry Potter books recently, also loved seeing Gandalf the wizard join the enterprise. We both get a bit mixed up with all the dwarves though.

The Hobbit changes gradually on his journey far from the genteel green Shire, forced to use his wits, his sword against various foes, stand up for his friends, make choices and even take a leading role in their venture. The dwarves are seeking to retake their lands and treasures from a thieving dragon, needing a burglar to slink inside the stronghold. It is quite intricate, many names are bandied about, the company are thrown into many dangerous situations. I was impressed by how well my son kept up with the goings-on and sympathised with Thorin.

One of our favourite parts was the riddles in the dark with Gollum, the riddles my son has repeated with delight to friends, learning a new form of word puzzle. He also wanted to hear a second time the section with dragon Smaug as he slyly sounds out the Hobbit burglar and is fought.

We are now making our way through the Peter Jackson films and we've already talked about the differences between book and film. I can see how taken my boy is with Middle Earth and its mythology, though I don't think at 8 he's quite ready for Lord of the Rings.

I do think it takes a certain maturity to cope with the language and complexity of Tolkien, even this book intended for a younger audience. While a simple enough plot, so much goes on that children under around 8 might find it a little overwhelming.

Personally, I didn't find the narrator easy to follow, some character voices, Bilbo in particular, seemed to change regularly (sounding older/younger at times), there wasn't much distinguishing the voices one from another, though my son didn't seem to have an issue at all.

Modern children's classic it remains, an imagination-expanding fantasy adventure. ...more

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