I've never read Lord of the Rings...Would this make a good read-aloud to my kid?

[madteaparty]

Just turned 8 years old. Our read-aloud right now are the latter Harry Potter books

[ELaurie]

our youngest is 9, and we're waiting until he's older to read it. He also has a very active imagination; we started reading it earlier this year, and some of the descriptions were too intense for bedtime reading (for him).

[Mrs Mungo]

You could try The Hobbit and see how that goes.

[madteaparty]

Thanks--This is good to know. I may wait as well.

[fairfarmhand]

read the hobbit first. My 8 yo got antsy at certain parts of the LOTR because there are some long descriptive passages.

[Legomom]

I think that the Hobbit is great for a read aloud. I found that Lord of the Rings was better as a silent read for older kids. Just our experience. Lots and lots of detail in the trilogy. More dialogue typically makes for a better read aloud (per Jim Trelease in Read Aloud Handbook)

[jenangelcat]

Definitely start with The Hobbit. I read LOTR as an adult and it was an effort to slog through it.

[Harriet Vane]

LOTR has rich, wonderful language that really is best read aloud, IMHO. That said, however, I would wait until your child is older. These are my favorite books, ever, and I think a slightly older child will enjoy them much more.

 

I read my dd The Hobbit when she was 10yo, and we continued on to read the whole series after that. She is an advanced reader and did well with it. My son is more of a math-oriented kid and not as strong with literature as my dd. We read him The Hobbit recently, and he loved it. We have chosen to hold off on LOTR just a little bit longer. We will likely read it to him over the next year, closer to when he is 12yo.

[Mrs Mungo]

BBC has a fun dramatized version. It's abridged, but it has them singing a lot of the songs. It's fun for younger kids. :)

 

Review with pros/cons of this version. This review suggests that some of the cut bits make the story hard to follow, but my kids did fine. They also watched the Rankin Bass version, and then read the book when they were a bit older.

[Carol in Cal.]

It depends how actively you read.

 

There are long descriptive passages in LOTR, and if you don't stop and talk about them, or truncate them as you are reading aloud, I think your son will lose track of the story.

 

Also there is a major separation of the groups of travelers from the original Company, and sometimes you don't see any news of a particular bunch for over 100 pages. You really have to then remind yourself what they were doing the last time you saw them.

 

Personally, I read LOTR in 7th grade for the first time. I was an avid reader, but it was hard going. We read LOTR to DD when she was about 9 or 10, and she followed it well enough, but we read it very actively.

 

I suggest reading The Hobbit aloud and seeing how it goes before you decide. It is easier and will introduce Tolkein's writing style without committing to a huge trilogy.

[elegantlion]

I agree, start with The Hobbit. We read it when ds was about 11. We're reading aloud LotR this year, and I think this is about the right age for us. Ds appreciates the language and doesn't mind the long passages. He's always had high comprehension, but his toleration is higher this year for lengthy descriptions.

 

We are reading aloud and enjoying it. I do different voices and make it dramatic. It's fun.

[Desert Rat]

The Hobbit was a success with my 8yo. Ds11 couldn't get through the trilogy and wasn't interested in them as read alouds. He got 3/4 through the first book and was done. :)

Have you considered the Septimus Heap books? They are like Harry Potter. We've also enjoyed the Sisters Grimm series, Spiderwick Chronicles, Series of Unfortunate Events, Percy Jackson and the other series by Riordan, Jules Verne books.

[Amira]

I grew up listening to these books. My dad would read them to us whenever we went camping and I always hear his voice when I hear about Bilbo's birthday party. I imagine he skipped some of the more intense scenes when he had little ones listening, but I certainly don't remember being bothered by anything in the books. I also think he skipped some of the long passages.

 

FWIW, we never read The Hobbit. My parents never did like it much even though they were dedicated Lord of the Rings fans.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Amira

[cottonmama]

LOTR has rich, wonderful language that really is best read aloud, IMHO.

 

:iagree: I'm the type to get bogged down in descriptive writing, but reading LOTR aloud keeps the pace going for me. And Tolkein's talent with words really shines when you can actually hear the words. I absolutely loved the battle in Moria... I can't imagine it being the same read silently.

 

I have absolutely no input on age appropriateness. My husband and I are reading it for our own enjoyment, with our very little children present but not really following the story with us. But the LOTR story does build on The Hobbit, and I understand that one is supposed to be more of a children's book anyway.

[HLDoll]

We read The Hobbit aloud last spring when the older kids were 7 and 6. They loved it and knew that LoTR came next and begged for it. I became pregnant over the summer and had a hard time moving out of bed or off the couch, so I began it with the kids and we got through The Fellowship of the Ring by the time school started. Our pace has slowed down with all the school reading, but we are almost done with The Two Towers. The kids are now 8 and almost 7. They love it. We plan to finish up the whole thing this summer and then do The Hobbit again before the movie comes out at Christmas. Yes, some passages of LoTR are long and descriptive, but the kids ask questions if they need to and I stop every so often and recap or ask questions to see how they're tracking. We've found it helpful to give them something to do while they listen - related coloring pages, silly putty, a sewing project. I'd definitely start with The Hobbit first (especially with the movie coming out), and then do LotR if your child shows interest. I also highly recommend the BBC radio play someone else mentioned. My kids have listened to that (only as far as we've read), and it helps their understanding and enjoyment of the story.