The Hobbit has been reviewed a million times. What makes this review different from the others? This is a kid reviewer’s review of The Hobbit—a review written by a kid for other kids. That makes it different and unique!
The hobbit: A Kid Reviewer’s Review: The what, The Why, The How
THE WHAT: Even though The Hobbit was published in 1937, it remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children’s literature. It even inspired a highly popular film franchise that adults and kids enjoy.
THE WHY: My ten-year-old son loves J. R. R. Tolkien and wants to share his love for The Hobbit with others. Writing about what he reads helps him process the material while gaining a deeper understanding of the creative process. As adults, we often purchase books for our children based on what we think they should read. What if we had a trove of reviews written by children to reference when we shopped for children’s books?
THE HOW: My son crafted a detailed review of The Hobbit using review metrics for kids. In addition to his summary, review, and rating, I added the collage board he created for his school book report. To make the collage, he used Google Jamboard.
Side note: Schools are using Google Jamboard in super cool, innovative ways this year. Jamboard is a giant white thinking space or canvas that is dynamic and requires out-of-the-box thinking. It can be used in any subject for all students!
The Hobbit: A Kid Reviewer’s Plot Summary
The Hobbit is a whimsical children’s novel describing Bilbo Baggins, a wizard, and a company of dwarves on their journey to defeat the evil dragon Smaug and reclaim Erebor, the lonely mountain.
Genre Tags: Children’s literature, High fantasy, Epic, Fantasy Fiction
Recommended for grades 6-8 and 9-12.
The Hobbit: A Kid Reviewer’s Review
This story is not character-driven. If you dive into this story looking for a character-driven plot, you are wasting your time. Technically, there are 15 main characters. In the end, you’ll be lucky to remember the names of 6-8 of them. There is the main protagonist Bilbo Baggins. The wise wizard Gandalf. Thoren leads the gang of dwarves. How many dwarves? Twelve. There are twelve! There are tons of characters, many of whom have incredibly few bits of dialogue. Some don’t even have personalities.
The world-building is fantastic! The descriptions are beautiful and really paint a picture in your head. Unlike Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is a children’s book, and it’s much easier to pick up, read, and understand.
I couldn’t identify one core theme in The Hobbit. Bilbo goes on a journey, comes home, and life returns to normal. Of course, he learns to be adventurous, but that is more character growth than the theme.
The plot is fun! This is an episodic novel. Something new happens in each chapter. In the first, dwarves raid Bilbo’s house. In another three trolls nearly eat the entire group. At one point, they almost get kidnapped by goblins! The story is fun and entertaining. Of course, the character’s goal is to defeat the dragon, but all sorts of bad creatures attack them along the way. Do these creatures work together with the big bad evil of the book? No. They are wild beasts they discover along the way.
The Hobbit: A Kid Reviewer’s Opinion/Thoughts
I love this story! It’s exciting and entertaining and a fun, quick read. It’s about the journey. This is the type of book you pick up before you go to bed and read a chapter. Like a TV show, whenever you read it, you ask yourself: What kind of shenanigans are Bilbo and the others going to get into? I recommend this book from both an educational experience and an entertainment perspective.
The Hobbit: A Kid Reviewer’s Rating
Freddy gives The Hobbit 🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️ out of 5 🗡️ (daggers)
Winner, winner!
other books for kids who love the hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy has accumulated worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written. No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien’s large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits.
Brandon Mull’s New York Times bestselling series about siblings Seth and Kendra who discover their grandparents are the caretakers of a sanctuary for magical creatures!
For more books like The Hobbit, see Dragon Books for Tweens We Love and New Middle Grade Fantasy Books.
About the Kid Reviewer
Freddy Burt is a ten-year-old book reviewer, writer, and junior filmmaker. When he’s not at his desk writing, you can find him reading fantasy, watching classic horror films, or riding his bike around the neighborhood.
A note from Mama Bookworm: Your 9-12 year-olds will love this book! It makes a terrific parent-child read-aloud as well.