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2021 update re podcast - see section below image of two rings.

This is a book I cast aside, unfinished, as a child, and learned to love through the enraptured passion of my own child, nestled in my lap. It’s a much cosier introduction to Middle Earth than the Lord of the Rings.

“Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
"All of them at once," said Bilbo.

In some ways it's a simple quest for treasure, with hobbits, , elves, and a wizard as heroes. You get a taste of the full breadth and darker depth of Tolkien's Middle Earth, but the dragon, Smaug, is not especially fearsome - certainly less so than Gollum, goblins, and wargs - and anyway, fear is counterbalanced by a scattering of rhymes and riddles.


Image: Original illustration of Smaug, Tolkien Estate© (.)

Finding (the) Love

�Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.�

I was fortunate to have parents who were readers - to themselves, and aloud to their children. However, neither were Tolkien fans, and I picked this up around age 9, at the urging of an uncle. I forget why I disliked it: perhaps I’ve erased the details because I was ashamed of abandoning it part way through.

My child is also fortunate to have parents who are readers. Aged 6, after Letters from Father Christmas (see my review HERE), and perhaps aware of the building hype for Peter Jackson’s first LotR film, my child requested The Hobbit as a bedtime story. I agreed with eagerness that veiled my heavy heart.

But what joy! My child’s passionate wonder started from the first few pages and was infectious. It became a deep bond, and it was one of the first "proper" books my child pushed themself to read alone - waking up early to go beyond where I'd finished the night before.

Soon after, we cemented our new love with The Lord of the Rings, eventually followed by The Silmarillion (see my review HERE), which was much harder to read aloud!

At 25, my child has read various Middle Earth books many times, and next year, will marry a fellow member of the uni Tolkien society. EDIT: Postponed for a year because of Covid pandemic. Fingers crossed!


Image: Two rings, in the light will bind them. (.)


Excellent podcast discussion

The Teaching My Cat to Read podcast team have just done a really good episode on The Hobbit, and I commend it to you, and indeed their others. Links are in their GR review of the book, HERE.

Quotes

� “Trolls simply detest the sight of dwarves (uncooked).�

� “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him. Dragons may not have much real use for all their wealth, but they know it to an ounce as a rule, especially after long possession; and Smaug was no exception.�

� “No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.�

� “When the heart of a dwarf, even the most respectable, is wakened by gold and by jewels, he grows suddenly bold, and he may become fierce.�

� “This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.� (A Whovian riddle from Gollum)

� “Your lullaby would waken a drunken goblin!�

� “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.�

Reading Order

Although Lord of the Rings stands on its own, it makes far more sense to read The Hobbit first. However, a child who enjoys The Hobbit is not necessarily ready to tackle LotR on their own - not just because this is shorter and simpler, but also because it is describing a gentler world. Side-stories, and the mythology of Middle Earth are best read after first reading The Hobbit and LotR, but before rereading them.

Thanks

It was chatting in comments on Alfred’s delightful review (HERE) that made me resolve to write a proper review of this at long last, as well as of The Silmarillion. Hence, this review, and my Silmarillion one, are totally new, August 2019.