The Hobbit - Book Review

Ok, I know that I am a little late with a review of The Hobbit, but I just finished reading this with my boys. Their ages are currently eight and five, and I knew that the 8-year-old could handle this book, but I was a little worried about the 5-year-old. Those worries were soon quenched after I read the first few paragraphs.

Anyway, here is my review...

Summary: (Just in case you don't know this already...) This book is the somewhat autobiographical rendition of the journey of one Hobbit, by the name of Bilbo Baggins. The title that he gave to this book is There and Back Again.

Hobbits, as you know, are comfortable creatures. They enjoy their ale, their pipes, and their many meals each day. Adventures are not a part of their makeup.

This Hobbit finds himself in the middle of an adventure when a wizard, a dwarf king, and eleven other dwarves show up on his doorstep one night. Before he knows what has happened, he finds himself facing trolls, trekking mountains, fighting goblins, killing giant spiders, riding on giant eagles, fleeing wolves, hiding from wood elves, trapped in life-or-death riddle games, and (worse for a hobbit) missing meals. All of this while knowing that at the end of the journey is a dragon and a dwarf treasure.

My Thoughts: In my humble opinion, this book should be moved amongst the classics. I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw that my school has this book on their reading list. I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that it is a must-read. I am telling you, if you have never read this book, might I suggest that you do it.

Tolkien is an amazing writer. In fact, I don't know if you could find a book that is as detailed as this and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The histories that he wrote before he wrote these books just blows my mind. There was a book, called The Silmarillion, that was never meant to be published, of the history of middle earth. The way I understand it, he wrote it to get his facts straight before he started writing the other books.

You could also check out The Essential Tolkien Library for all of the books.