The Kids’ thoughts on the Hobbit

We finished reading Tolkien’s The Hobbit this week – the first full-length book I’ve read to the kids.  It was a the obvious choice, as this was also the first book my Mom read to me.  It’s been a while since I’ve read that book and several things stand out after so many years.  Tolkien wrote in  long, descriptive, balanced sentences.  Very nice to read aloud.  The sense of place and history, the sheer amount of description is palpable in The Hobbit.  Of course this has become one of the prevailing themes of fantasy fiction, so no surprise there.  Finally, Bilbo is just a great character.  And now onto the girls’ thoughts as recorded be me with a few questions here and there…

One favorite part is when Bilbo went to talk to Smaug.  He saw the weak spot by getting Smaug to roll over by telling riddles.  Bilbo was pretty brave there.  I was afraid Bilbo might be found by Smaug, and he’d attack him and eat him.  I thought this was the scariest part.  Instead he just got a little burnt.

Indy and the Hobbit

In a land of rising ticket prices and diminishing entertainment returns…

In a time devoid of cool news about movies…

One man, bearded, and Hobbit-like, brings hope to the masses, while another, grizzled and hoary, tries to recapture the archaeological glory of days gone by…

Yes, Peter Jackson has finally ended his feud with New Line and agreed to produce The Hobbit movie. Or movies. Apparently Pete wants to do two films to cover the story, the second of which may provide a bridge between Tolkien’s first book and the LoTR trilogy. Hmm. Does that mean new original story material in Middle Earth? It’s interesting because Jackson and Co. did such a fine job abridging, editing, and translating the trilogy into film, mostly a task of scaling down the story. Now two movies from a shorter book, which could mean some narrative expansion.