The Hobbit for a 7y/o?

[jenn1129]

Is The Hobbit age-appropriate for a 7 year old? He will be able to read it, but what I am asking is might it give him nightmares? He reads advanced, but he still is only 7 with a 7 year olds fears. Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!!

[athena1277]

I have read it twice and I would not let my 7yo read it. First off, I think it's too advanced, even for a kid who is working ahead. There's a lot of lengthy passages that would bore a young child. You would be doing good just to get through the 1st chapter. Second off, my dd7 would be scared by all the goblins, elves, trolls, and not to mention Golum (sp?), who is very creepy in the book.

[hsmamainva]

I think he'd appreciate it more if you wait until he's older.

 

I think it's a great read for ages 10 and up.

 

I read the series for the first time when I was around 12 and have been a Tolkien fan ever since.

[Lorax]

We read the Hobbit to my daughter when she was 8. She liked it, but didn't love it at that age. She's 9 this year and we decided to give Lord of the Rings a try as a read aloud. She loved it so much she wanted her own copies of the books and decided to be an elf for Halloween. Given our experience, I would wait and if you decide to do it in a few years I would probably still consider doing it as a read aloud. My daughter is a very strong reader, but I still think she benefited from having me read it to her.

[jenn1129]

Thank you. I figured we would read it together. I just didn't know about the content, as I have never read any of his books. But now I know we should wait a couple of years. Thanks again!

[Pippen]

I did The Hobbit and LOTR in sequence as a read-a-loud to my oldest. He was 9 when we started and it was a big jump, both in content and in reading level. I did buy him his own set of books so he could follow along. One thing I would recommend for those looking to do it on the earlier side is to read ahead if you're not familiar so that you can judge whether the material is suitable for bedtime reading (if that's what you typically do). The scarier content was easier on him during daytime hours.

 

It was one of the greatest reading experiences for both of us. When we were finished we each signed and dated both sets of our books just to record the memory.

[Haiku]

I read The Hobbit to my kids, who were 7 and 6, over the summer and they loved it. They were not scared by anything in it. The Hobbit was written to be a children's story. The Lord of the Rings was not, and I plan on waiting until they decide to read that on their own. I was in my 20s when I first read it.

 

Tara

[JudoMom]

My ds9 read The Hobbit when he was 6 and he loved it. It took him a couple of months, but he was persistent and understood the plot well enough and was not scared by it at all. He's reading LOTR now and loves it as well. I believe his free reading plans include going back to re-read The Hobbit when he finishes the trilogy.

[jenn1129]

LOL. well goodness! I think I will take the suggestion of reading it myself first. Thanks for all the advice!

[SusanAR]

My ds read it for the first time when he was 9. I purchased a large, beautifully illustrated version which made it less intimidating. Now he is 16 and has read TLoTR countless times. He even plays LOtR online. Why is it this way with Tolkein fans???:001_smile: Is it some type of strange disorder??

[Pippen]

My ds read it for the first time when he was 9. I purchased a large, beautifully illustrated version which made it less intimidating. Now he is 16 and has read TLoTR countless times. He even plays LOtR online. Why is it this way with Tolkein fans???:001_smile: Is it some type of strange disorder??

 

Like Tolkien Derangement Syndrome? I don't know, once it takes, we just can't help ourselves. Honestly I don't think it's exclusive--I've seen the same thing happen with women and scrapbooking. :lol:

[Dana]

We did Hobbit as a family read-aloud in October/November. Ds is 7 (young 7 - birthday in end of August). He loved it.

 

There were some bits he found scary, but he's found A Christmas Carol to be more scary than The Hobbit. (Marley's visitation - and we've got an illustrated edition.)

 

So I'd go with The Hobbit as a read-aloud and stop if it seems too scary.

[KathyBC]

I read it out loud a couple of years ago, primarily for the 11yo but the then-7yo enjoyed it, found nothing too scary and still remembers it.

[myfunnybunch]

I read The Hobbit aloud last year. My boys were 8, 6, and 4. They all loved it. High adventure but not too scary. They even pretended to be hobbits battling dragons and wearing rings and traveling with a giant bear. :)

 

I'd recommend reading it aloud anyway just because it is such a delight to read a well-written adventure. (I also felt that way about Swallows and Amazons.)

 

Cat

[lovemyboys]

I think he'd appreciate it more if you wait until he's older.

 

I think it's a great read for ages 10 and up.

 

I read the series for the first time when I was around 12 and have been a Tolkien fan ever since.

 

:iagree: I think I found this when I was about 13 and devoured the Hobbit. Then I was thrilled to learn that there was the Lord of the Rings series to follow. I read through the series another couple times in my teens.

 

There is so much wonderful fiction available to younger grade school age kids that's much easier for them to relate to and digest than the more complex themes, language and writing of Tolkien. I've decided that even if ds here is able to tackle something like this, I'd rather encourage him toward something more age-appropriate and save such a wonderful series til he's older and able to really appreciate it.

 

Along the same lines, we avoid using abridged versions of classic stories done specifically for younger kids (although we have used a few Jim Weiss ones for Shakespeare). It just seems to me that it takes away some of the delight of discovery they have if they already have the whole plot and ending revealed before they even pick up the book.

 

But, as always, ymmv.

[Haiku]

Sometimes classical homeschoolers lose sight of childhood too soon. There are classics for young children that they should read. I can't remember them all now, but I remember making the conscious decision to WAIT on some of these books, and read Winnie the Pooh and all of those, and I am *very* glad to have done so.

 

 

I have never found it to be an "either/or." We read The Hobbit and Pooh/Paddington.

 

Tara

[myfunnybunch]

I have never found it to be an "either/or." We read The Hobbit and Pooh/Paddington.

 

Tara

 

Same here. :-)

 

Some of my older dd's favorite read-alouds during her middle school years were books I'd read aloud to her when she was younger. The Hobbit was one of those, as were some of the Narnia books. She was thrilled at experiencing a familiar story with a new level of understanding and depth of discussion.

 

Cat

[Veritaserum]

I've read it to my kids twice now (4 - 6 the first go and 4 - 8 the second time) and they all loved it. We did it as a read aloud so I was able to distill the scariness of the orcs and such.

[nmoira]

 

Sometimes classical homeschoolers lose sight of childhood too soon. There are classics for young children that they should read. I can't remember them all now, but I remember making the conscious decision to WAIT on some of these books, and read Winnie the Pooh and all of those, and I am *very* glad to have done so.

This is part of my argument against using adapted early modern or modern classics. However, I don't see any problem in reading unabridged original works to children who are ready to enjoy them.