Eldest asked what a particular book was on the shelf. I explained it was the Hobbit and the basic premise. She was intrigued so I started reading her a few pages in bed last night. Lots of editing on the hoof followed from me and a fair few stops for questions. She enjoyed it though.

Wondering about picking up a kids abridged/illustrated version (no idea which) or just persevering in the theory she will learnt more that way. Anyone care to shed some light on the best approach? Any thoughts suggestions or abridged version recommendations?

I’m a Tolkien fan, but not a proper geek, so will probably stumble on some of the interrogation from her 😁

TIA!!

I would just go for it with the full book, but take your time. It will be a wonderful thing to share with her which she will remember.

It is a little heavy going in places for a 7 year old perhaps, but stopping for questions as you are should help.

She will undoubtedly gain a life long love of books and a wonderful shared experience with you. Win win. Although it’s a children’s book, I didn’t read it until my late teens but still loved it. I wish my Mum or Dad had read it to me!

I’d say read the full thing and deal with the questions.

Read the whole thing, she’ll learn more that way and it’s easier for you. I wasn’t much older than that when I read it for myself.

Yeah, go for it, it was written as a children’s book anyway.

For stuff in a similar vein but a bit lighter/simpler, you could try The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

Whole thing.
I read it when I was 8, started reading with parents but they were too slow for me (as in 30mins at bed time wasn’t enough, I wanted to know what was happening next) so I just went for it and have been a big reader ever since!

I read it to my 7 year old son, he loved it

As above.  Though having to reel off the bloody names of the dwarves gets tiresome. Was Tolkien bored when he named them?

just finished reading it with my 9yr old. he loved it. chapter a night. I’d forgotten a lot of it.

Agree with the others, my daughter ploughed through it solo this year at 8 and a half.  She LOVED it and keeps eyeing up Lord of the Rings on the shelf.

Reading together is one thing I’m really missing as she’s got older and more independent, so make the most of it while you can!

The questions are a good thing. Shows she’s interested. Remember to do made up voices for all the different characters. 🙂

Ok. Sounds like a plan. Thanks all. I’m similar to blokeuptheroad in that I wish I’d have read it a bit earlier with my folks. I had a primary school teacher who was obsessed, we used to have middle earth maps and runes up all over the classroom. I remember some of the kids were WTF?! I had a foot in both camps really but mostly found the books a bit later on in life. Then had a real deep dive on my non-cycle-in days of a London commute. Missed a few tube and train stops/left a gym bag on the train and certainly wasn’t minding the gap.

Cheers all 👊

Edit – Martinhutch I will channel my inner Brian Blessed!

I’m 52 and never managed to finish it. Could you maybe set up a Zoom call for people like me to listen in?

When I was 6 I fell out of a tree and suffered a spiral fracture of my left femur.

This being the 1970s I was put in traction in the Derby Children’s Hospital for a little over 6 weeks.

My Dad, who worked in Derby, visited me every lunchtime and read the Hobbit to me. I loved it and a few years afterwards went on to read LOTR by myself.

I’d say go for it.

You wait….time passes….Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold.

Loving some of the heartwarming responses.

Lol at Morecash!!

As with the others – its a kids book and i don’t remember anythig particularly scary. I read it and LOTR before I was 9

I’m reading it at the moment to my 11 and 8 year olds. 11 year old has read it already himself. The biggest problem I’ve found is that the language is maybe more difficult to follow for a younger child vs something like all the Harry Potters which we’ve just finished reading but then you’d expect it from a book written in the 1930s.

Slight hijack but my 4yo daughter is turning into a real bookworm and I’m sure will be reading Harry Potter and the Hobbit in a few years

Just wondering what recommendations people have for younger kids, once they’ve moved on from big picture books (gruffalo etc)

She’s decided those are all baby books and packed them away!

You wait….time passes….Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold.

@percypanther:-) what game was that from?

My dad read me and my sister the valley of the horses before we were 9 and 8. I reread it as a teenager and discovered a humongous amount of editing had gone in from him. So that’s what a bloke and a lady did in a valley full of horses in the stone age with no electric light!

The Hobbit (1982 video game) – Wikipedia

play it here…

DOSBox SVN, CPU speed: 3000 cycles, Frameskip 0, Program: HOBBIT (archive.org)

what game was that from?

Another slight hijack, my daughter (primary teacher) put some audiobooks on YT for younger kids. She has a few scattered around on the net.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH2OCkiL6LYX4gsU3NIlsNQ/videos

Just wondering what recommendations people have for younger kids, once they’ve moved on from big picture books (gruffalo etc)

The shorter Roald Dahl books are the obvious choice.

read it when I was a kid and and liked it. Reread one or two of my kids and agree an edited version would be better: lose the elves, goblins, aryan types, definitely brexity daily mail reading hobbits etc etc.

At that age my kids really liked The Little Grey Men by BB.

Remind me, what’s problematic in The Hobbit that needs editing out?

I went back to re-read it once as an adult and was surprised at how twee it was. I didn’t get more than a couple of chapters in, I couldn’t read it.

Just wondering what recommendations people have for younger kids, once they’ve moved on from big picture books (gruffalo etc)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faraway_Tree

I went back to re-read it once as an adult and was surprised at how twee it was

Yeah, I agree with that, it’s very clearly a children’s book – I can’t think what would be disturbing to a 7 year old at all.

Weirdstone Of Brisingamen though (as recommended above somewhere) – that’s pretty dark stuff for 7, and Moon Of Gomrath ramps it up a fair bit.

Gosh this brought tears to my eyes with fond memories. Used to absolutely love reading to mine before bed and it’s a pretty short lived so definitely make the most of it. We got through all the Harry Potters, every single Series of Unfortunate Events (Lenony Snicket)which are great but was a marathon and some traditional ones such as Treasure Island, Pinocchio (very dark) and Tolkien. Have fun!

I’d say go for it with the book she choose off the shelf, that’s the one she wants you to read to her. And enjoy it.
There is a graphic novel version that’s good, we used it in school with a class of 10yo to see a different style , and it went down well. Lots had already read the novel. That might be a nice gift later for her to re-read.

Remind me, what’s problematic in The Hobbit that needs editing out

I don’t recall needing to censor anything with my 7 year old, but I did need to update some words to more modern ones. One that stands out, from both Hobbit and Secret Seven for example, is the use of the word “queer” to mean strange. Whilst it obviously does, it was just easier to say “strange” when reading aloud.

Just wondering what recommendations people have for younger kids, once they’ve moved on from big picture books (gruffalo etc)

She’s decided those are all baby books and packed them away!

Enid Blyton (yes, I know!)
The Magic Faraway Tree, The Enchanted Wood. Adventures of the Wishing Chair.
Amelia Jane

Yes – not censoring/editing as such, just a change of the odd word/language perhaps.

Hobbit? Just go with the regular book. Maybe get a map to follow/plot the journey and destination on? This can be fun when you see the progress.

I read LOTR before the hobbit. The versions in the school library had the fold out maps in the back. These made following the quest and seeing where things were happening easier. Pre-high school so probably about age 9-11?

can’t remember if The Hobbit had a map in its edition. I found it unreadable. Still do. Moved on to Asimov and the like then.

By the way, while picture books might not be favoured now, books with pictures can be very good   It’d be a shame to miss out on some of the brilliant graphic storytelling around.

Books for children. My children are older and my youngest nephews/nieces are at high school so <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>suggestions might be out of date.</span>

Charlotte’s web

Any David Walliams

Roald Dahl, really.
Neil Gaiman’s children-focused stories. Coraline especially.
Jacqueline wilson
Skulduggery[sic] pleasant

there’s some faerie series that went down well too