The Hobbit (by J. R. R. Tolkien)

I started reading this to my six year old daughter a test to see what kind of books would keep her interested and now she will not let me put her to bed without reading some of it. We have often read for well over an hour. I'm not advocating for all kids at this age, but if you stragegically omit certain parts of the book (such as the Trolls discussing how to eat the Dwarves), then it can be appropriate for most children

Just a great classic adventure story and a wonderful precursor to the Lord of the Rings. If you love Tolkien, be sure to check out Roverandom as well. Great fun, especially for reading aloud

the best book ever. large battles, awesome characters, and a beautiful setting. some light drug reference. otherwise a great book

A fabulous 5 star book with an amazing plot, thats great for all J.R.R. Tolkien fans ages 10+. I've been reading his books since I was 7, and still do to this day. I cant wait till' they make this book into a movie in 2011/2012. Lets just hope it wont get cancelled. Peter Jackson is a great director, and made The Lord of the Rings books into an awesome trilogy. I know he can do the same for The Hobbit as well.

My 8yr old daughter devoured this book. Loved it. Some iffy parts for more sensitive kids and younger kids. But fine for most 9yr olds and above.

I am 12 years of age and i'm in love with the Lord of the Rings Saga. The Hobbit, however, takes me to a journey to the world of goblins and Hobbits to wizards and Dwarfs. I am compelled to the magical whereabouts that Bilbo Baggins and his companions travel to and as a 12 year old, i reckon that kids my age need to be able to express more of their imagination. It is a FLAWLESS masterpiece which REALLY doesn't end tragically! Read it before the movie..

The Hobbit, an exciting and interesting prequel to the Lord of the Rings is an excellent old-timey adventure tale. While this book is good for all ages, some of the concepts and language can be very hard to grasp, as this book wasn't written with modern slang and tongue in mind. This book is pretty clean, other than frequent attacks (Goblins and other mythical creatures) and the occasional smoke or jug of mead.

My son LOVES this book (and the cartoon version). We read it when he turned 6. It reads like an old-time storyteller's tale and is fantastic for reading out loud. There's some dated language, which you can either explain to your kid or update (i.e. "queer" to "strange"). There is a major battle and there are some deaths (wholesale goblin slaying and a major character dies), but nothing is graphically described. There's a lot of "peril" so if you have a sensitive kid, you may want to wait a little longer. I never thought my kid would be patient enough for it, but after reading this, we even moved on to Lord of the Rings and have almost completed it after MONTHS of reading it at bedtime. If your kid has the patience and the imagination, this is a great world to let them get lost in. Kids love the heroics, and particularly the fact that the insignificant little character is the hero of the tale.

I've read this book quite a few times- and I'm usually not all that into adventure stories. Definitely a good read. However, I didn't read it to myself at eight, I think you would have to be at least twelve to handle the length by yourself.