16 Mar 2011 No Comments
Bedtime books — “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien
Never laugh at live dragons. (chapter 11)
The winter of my 6th grade year, my teacher the fantastic Mrs. Bolton read “The Hobbit” to my class right after lunch each day. I remember looking forward with great anticipation as she pulled that old wooden teacher’s chair out from behind her huge metal desk, dragged it to the front of the classroom, opened the book and began to recount the adventures of Bilbo Baggins.
I asked about a dozen people if my 9-year-old was too young for the story. (The simple truth was I just wanted to reread it and was using my kid as an excuse to indulge in this epic tale) It wasn’t until a friend, half my age who had read it relatively recently, thought about it, nodded and proclaimed that — yes — she would most certainly enjoy it.
That was enough for me! And off we went.
Part 1 of "The Hobbit" is scheduled for a Dec 2012 release
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins. He’s a peaceful, breakfast-loving sort of cozy hobbit who lives in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and rather unwanted. So when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition with a troop of rowdy dwarves, he’s less than thrilled.
Encountering ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves, Bilbo discovers within himself astonishing strength and courage. And at the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit will brave the dangers of dark and dragon fire alone and unaided.
It took us from November to February to get through this 300+ page book, but every page was a complete joy. I highly recommend reading this together as a family if the kids are over the age of 7, maybe 8. Not because it’s too intense or scary, but because the language and style are a bit too sophisticated for the little one.
Also, you might want to get at it sooner rather than later because the movie is coming soon! Peter Jackson, the genius who brought us the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is in production of part 1 of “The Hobbit” movie currently scheduled to be released for Christmas 2010. To find out tons more about the film go to www.the-hobbit-movie.com.
For bedtime reading, we’ve moved on to “Anne of Avonlea” but we are currently taking suggestions for our next bedtime book, so send ‘em our way.
