“Then something Tookish woke up inside of him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick.”
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit living a pleasant life when a knock on the door of his home changes his life forever. Dwarves appear one by one stating there is a journey ahead and the wizard, Gandalf, will join them soon. Bilbo is forced to host them and they explain the grand journey they are headed on to rescue their treasure and mountain from a dragon named Smaug – and Bilbo must join them for their success. Will he choose peace or adventure? He is part Took, after all, and they were hobbits that had adventures.
My daughter wanted to start reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I told her we had to start with The Hobbit. I read it along with her since it’s been more than 15 years since I read the books last (right before the movies came out). I grew up watching the cartoon movie of The Hobbit and was glad to find out when I read the book after college that the cartoon followed almost the entire book. It’s neat to see this world come alive for my daughter.
Bilbo does join the adventure at the last minute as “the thief.” Their journey takes them across many different lands with many different creatures. Almost everything that can goes wrong does, but the most pivotal parts of their success come after a wrong turn. Bilbo only finds the ring that can make him disappear after falling down a tunnel. Without finding that ring, they may not have had any luck trying to fight many of their foes along the way, including the dragon. Peace will not come to Bilbo’s life until he gets back to his home – if he does.
I am so glad I read this book again. I’m sure it won’t be the last time. It’s a great story of adventure, cleverness and finding the greater good. It also sets up the story found in The Lord of the Rings. I would recommend this to everyone – probably middle school age and older; however, an advanced elementary school reader would probably enjoy it.
Buy the book here (affiliate link).