The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Hobbit

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

ISBN:070999006994

Publisher: The Ballantine Publishing Group

Copyright Date:1937

Genre:Fantasy

About the Author:

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished academic career and was recognized as one of the finest philologists in the world. He was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. He is, however, beloved throughout the world as the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic works as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He died on September 2, 1973.

Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937). The Hobbit. United States of America: The Ballantine Publishing Group.

Curriculum Ties:

• Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Plot Summary:

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit, a small human like creature, who lives quite comfortably in a hole in the ground. However, one day a wizard, Gandalf the Grey comes to his door and leaves a mark on it. Soon, thirteen dwarves come to his home and ask him to come on an adventure with them. Bilbo grudgingly accepts to go as a thief to help the dwarves reclaim their ancestral homeland from a dragon named Smaug. On the way to the mountain that Smaug lives at, Bilbo encounters trolls who try to eat him, elves who help Bilbo and the dwarves understand a map, goblins who try to kill them, and a cave dwelling creature that Bilbo steals a magic ring from. After these, and other adventures, Bilbo and the dwarves arrive at the mountain, and enter it to face the dragon, retrieve that gold, and face an even larger threat than they imagined. 

Critical Evaluation:

The story is a lighter hearted one, focusing on the development of a single character, Bilbo Baggins. Most of the supporting characters are barely fleshed out at all, with the majority of the dwarves being given names but not many other discerning characteristics. Even Gandalf the Grey, the predominant other character, shows up only occasionally in the text, and his disappearances are not explained in the story. However, there is a great deal of development in Bilbo’s character in the course of the book. He goes from being a character uncomfortable with change and a small world view, to being the most important person in the party of the dwarves. This ties in a number of themes throughout the book, like how even the smallest person can have a large effect on the world. The book also has strong nature themes, with intelligent animals, and a warning against greed, which is displayed in Thorin’s later behavior in the book. 

Readers Annotation:

Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, lives comfortable life until Gandalf and thirteen dwarves arrive to take him on an adventure. During this trip, he meets elves, fight orcs, and ultimately helps to slay a dragon. 

Book Talking Ideas:

• Talk about how Bilbo starts his adventure. Discuss how it would feel to go on an adventure and whether you would go on one. 
• Talk about what Bilbo is like at the start of the book. How does he change during the course of the book? 

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12-18

Challenge Issues:

• Higher reading level- May be moved to adult because of the audience and reading level. 

Defense Collection:

• Dwarfs and goblins and a new small creature named a "hobbit " in a book that has a place of its own. Unlike Alice or The  Adventures of a Brownie or The  Phoenix and the  Carpet (all fairly obvious comparisons), The Hobbit  deals solely with these little creatures, and their adventures with enemies of fact and fiction, and not at all with humans. Frankly, I think it a book to be shared with children, rather than read by them. And the  children must be imaginative children with a certain sort of child philosophy and a sense of humor. It's a book to be taken in small bits, for though it is in the  main an adventure in treasure hunting, it is episodic in character -- and is not wholly easy reading at a gulp. It's a book to be sold carefully, to the  right parents -- and with a good start, it might become a perennial. (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1938)
• Awards:
• BILBY - Books I Love Best Yearly (Australia) : Older Reader
• YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Book to Movie: Ripped From the  Pages (2015)
• Freedom to Read Statement
• ALA Library Bill of Rights
• Springville Public Library Collection Development Policy:

• The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
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• To assess the item based on the above criteria, staff utilize:
• Nationally recognized and relevant pre-publication reviews
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Purpose in Collection:

The Hobbit fits into the classic books for young adults. It was originally written for Tolkien's children, and serves as an introduction to the Middle Earth. It is a book that appeals to readers of all ages, one that parents can introduce to their children, and has been awarded and read in schools.