Bilbo from the book is a fundamentally different character than martin freemans character depicted in the film, albeit the role and essence are the same. Oct 17, 2012 we are currently reading the hobbit to our older kids 8 and 10, and i read it when i was in 5th grade, but i would not read it aloud to our younger children. I think ask996 makes a good point that theres little. In this book its the dwarves that sing, not the elves. Generally for contemporary books the main not only, but main criteria is the age of the protagonists, with the target demographic being 35 years below this age, and up. Tolkiens the hobbit cannot be considered simply a rollicking story of fantasy. Tolkien can be ponderous at times but is far less so in the hobbit than in the lord of the rings. The reading level cues you in to the vocabulary and language issues. This is the classic story of bilbo baggins a homeloving hobbit who enjoys a quiet and contented life in his cosy hobbit hole and has no. Even the hobbit, which starts the series off, is a thick tome, and though it was. My own mother read me both the hobbit and the lord of the rings when i was eight, and the books became so important to me that i wrote my college application essay about how they shaped my view of the world i got accepted.
I will continue on to lord of the rings to see how those held up, but my memory is that they feel a bit more mature than the hobbit, though gollum is a i would have preferred a straight reading of this. And there are those who use the human age of 18 rather than 21, at the upper end of the spectrum, while some create their own sliding scale. Thorin of course saw the sense of this, so after a few more groans he got up and helped the hobbit as well as he could. I think we started it the first time when he was just under four basically as soon as he had the attention span for it. I have been showing my 5yearold daughter the cartoon film of the hobbit, on youtube, and telling her the story. Tolkien the masterful trilogy that is the lord of the rings saga is hardly the ultimate fantasy work, but for parents looking to introduce their children into this magnificent fantasy realm, the reading material may seem too advanced for a child. A ballantine book, published by the ballantine publishing group 1th printing of the 1982 revised edition cover illustration by ted nasmith. The hobbit, or, there and back again analysis shmoop.
The hobbit and dwarves cower in the dark passage until they can bear it no longer. These free notes consist of about 77 pages 22,997 words and contain the following sections. Hobbits, by the way, are small people with furry toes and big bellies. If your kids are looking for an epic fantasy adventure, j. Tolkiens standalone quest through middleearth, is less violent than the scarier lord of the rings trilogy. And the hobbit is also clearly a quest because the whole engine of the book is thorin and the dwarves plan to seek their stolen gold in the lair of the dragon smaug. Obviously there are many exceptions, not least of which is the festering hellhole that is new adult fiction nominally featuring protagonists 1821, but thats the. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey there and back again.
Peter jackson brings brio and fun to tolkien tale, but use of hfr technology and sheer length of opener may test non. The hobbit, or there and back again is this a good book for. My favorite thing about the hobbit is that it rewards the reader for reading it again. So so excited to go back to peter jacksons middleearth. Dec 06, 2012 with the imminent release of the first of peter jacksons threepart adaptation of the hobbit, i revisited j. Fantastic offers on quality books, collections, audio cds and more exclusive to book people. Things that make no sense about the hobbit trilogy screenrant. Coming back to read this book as an adult, having read it quite young at age 11 or 12, the book does feel more young adult than i recall. But there are definitely some frightening sequences, like the battle between the dragon and the dwarves of erebor, during which. I would say it should be read by an adult to a 7 or 8 year old child or if the child say 10 years, has a good reading habit and vocabulary, then this is the book heshe. The lexile framework score for the hobbit is, which puts it at a reading level more diffficult and higher than most of the harry potter books, hunger games and many other childrens and young adult fiction using the same reading level scoring system. There are certain scenes from it that will remain ingrained on my brain for life and others that i cant really recall at all. Tolkien 18921973 is the creator of middleearth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as the hobbit, the lord of the rings, and the silmarillion. Jun 26, 2015 the hobbit is one of the longest short books i have ever read in my life, because though it is relatively not that long it feels very long and over drawn.
I loved singing the songs in the book with my mother later, it can be reread and appreciated at a deeper level when you are a teenager and an adult. The hobbit and the lord of the rings suitable for 8 year. I tend to think that the hobbit is lighter in tone than the lord of the rings, but ill admit that its been a while since ive read both. Is the hobbit appropriate reading for a 10 year old. The hobbit, or there and back again is a childrens fantasy novel by english author j. When bilbo determines that the beast is gone, the dwarves run out to the treasure in glee, remembering the prosperous times of old. The dancing sun one example of personification in the hobbit is when. His parents are pretty strict not crazy \ religious strict about what their kids watch, read and such so i dont want to get it for him if there is anything that could be considered adult type of content or too violently graphic. While there are a few cases of author omsicience in the hobbit, it is.
Thus itll be the way most people have encountered this book for 80 years. The free the hobbit notes include comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. My 10 yr old nephew is wanting a copy of the hobbit for christmas. The cartoon film isnt bad at all for that age group. It makes a great readaloud for kids 8 and up and readalone for 10 or 11 and up. The hobbit is one of the longest short books i have ever read in my life, because though it is relatively not that long it feels very long and over drawn. Is the hobbit appropriate for an 8 year old to read on her. Tolkien never expected his stories to become popular, but by sheer accident a book he had written some years before for his own children, called the hobbit, came in 1936 to the attention of susan dagnall, an employee of the london publishing firm. Its hard to miss that the hobbit is a fantasy novel, what with all of the elves and goblins and trolls and things. This is a masterpiece of a story that will entertain a range of young children. Oct 18, 2004 the book the hobbit is a fantasyadventure by j. Get timely parenting advice delivered straight to your inbox weekly.
Kids younger than 8 will probably have a tough time with both the vocabulary and some of the violence. I would buy a book with illustrations by alan lee, myself. When do you think is a good time to introduce your kids to tolkien. Tolkiens 1937 novel, which i had not opened since i was a teenager. The hobbit questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the hobbit. I read the book and did not take notice of the lack of female characters so, this is interesting. Appropriately, it was while correcting what stanton refers to as a very dull set of exam papers in the late 1920s or early 1930s that tolkien suddenly jotted down the phrase. Previously used in the filming of the lord of the rings and the hobbit series of movies, it is part of a movie set that has been retained for guided tours. They like beer and jokes and generally making merry. A game of thrones what age should read this book showing. We are currently reading the hobbit to our older kids 8 and 10, and i read it when i was in 5th grade, but i would not read it aloud to our younger children. With this in mind, here are 20 things that make no sense about the hobbit trilogy.
The film was originally titled age of the hobbits and set for release directtodvd on december 11, 2012. Tolkiens many excellent books, the hobbit is the better choice for tweens. Though the tone of the book is notably lighter than that of the preceding lord of the rings saga, the. The hobbit, or, there and back again summary shmoop. The hobbit cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. The lord of the rings trilogy is a bit more advanced, more like 12 18 years. Tell in the first person using i your own story, or something from the story from your point of view.
Teachers guide for the hobbit published by houghton mifflin. The hobbit and lord of the rings agebyage guide common. The hobbit is, i would estimate, suitable for readers of around 10 16 years of age. In the darkness floundering in the cold water they had a difficult and very nasty job finding which were the right barrels. I thought that a separate thread would be good as to not expose anyone to spoilers in the movie from another persons thread. Dec 11, 2012 my 10 yr old nephew is wanting a copy of the hobbit for christmas. Find out which hobbit and lord of the rings apps, books, games, movies, and tv shows are appropriate for every age. It has always seemed to me that the lack of women in the hobbit has something to do with bilbos character.
Tolkiens own children, the hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic. With the imminent release of the first of peter jacksons threepart adaptation of the hobbit, i revisited j. This particular hobbit hole was the residence of the character sam. In the lord of the rings, the necromancer is seen to be sauron. Bilbo baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home. In the tradition of the asylums catalog, the film is a mockbuster of the 2012 film the hobbit. There are definately dark creatures in the book goblins, trolls, gollum, a dragon, etc. Roverandom and smith of wootton major, like the hobbit. It really isnt difficult to see why this book became a classic and i honestly believe that regardless of your age, knowledge of middleearth or affinity for the fantasy. Advanced readers from late elementary school on should be able to handle it pretty well, but the average elementary school kid again, especially. The men of laketown saw the flashes produced by smaugs destruction and at first thought it was the king under the mountain and his gold. The necromancer, a shadowy evil character mentioned in the hobbit. Having never read it i do not know if it would be age appropriate or not.
I thought that now with the hobbit movie out in theatres, i would make a post where we could discuss the movie to the book. How to find ageappropriate books for advanced readers. Personification is not always appropriate, but in books such as the hobbit it can help add imagery and interest to the story. However, for those who do agree that maturing at twothirds of the human rate is an actual hobbit physical characteristic, and that this holds throughout their lives, i hope this chart will prove a useful. An unexpected journey, director peter jacksons adaptation of j. The story flashes back to the point two days before, when smaug smashed in the door of the mountain in a range. Bilbo baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbithole in bag end. R tolkien that takes place in the fictional world of middle earth, which is the setting of most of the authors works.
The education system in britain in the 30s was heavily focused on the classics, and as a result, kids who attended those schools could read at a much more advanced level than kids today, especially in the u. I started reading this to my six year old daughter a test to see what kind of books would. Pretend you are any character in the book except for bilbo. The hobbit is the unforgettable story of bilbo, a peaceloving hobbit, who embarks on a strange and magical adventure. The hobbit and the lord of the rings became the end of the third age of middle earth within arda. I would say it should be read by an adult to a 7 or 8 year old child or if the child say 10 years, has a good reading habit and vocabulary, then this is the book. Jun 23, 2011 my favorite thing about the hobbit is that it rewards the reader for reading it again. I dont have any children, ive never read the hobbit and i dont really care what movies your kids see as long as theyre wellbehaved and not in the same theater as me. In the lord of the rings it is revealed that gollum is a degenerate hobbit of great age whose name was originally smeagol. The hobbit movie producers sue age of the hobbits studio.
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