The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

Image accessed 4/4/13

Tolkien, J.R.R. (1990) The Hobbit - An illustrated edition of the fantasy classic, Random House Publishing Group, USA. 

The graphic novel edition of The Hobbit was adapted by Charles Dixon and Sean Deming and illustrated by David Wenzel. It is on the Premier's Reading Challenge Year 6-9.

As The Hobbit was originally published in 1965, hobbits have been depicted in many different ways over the years through book covers and movies. According to J.R.R. Tolkien on page 1, image accessed 4/4/13, a hobbit is a little person, smaller than a dwarf. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach, dress in bright colours, wear no shoes because they have leathery soles of their feet and have thick warm brown hair.                                                   

This is a story of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who lives in a place called The Valley of Rivendale. Baggins was not an adventurous hobbit, much preferring the quiet life. One day he was visited by a wizard called Gandalf, image accessed 4/4/13, who invited him on an adventure. Not too pleased with this invitation as he wasn't a brave sort, he declined very quickly.

Gandalf didn't give up though! With the allure of stolen money, jewels and untold wealth, Bilbo armed with a map, key and the company of dwarves decides that he will join Gandalf on the dangerous quest to Middle Earth to reclaim the treasure now guarded by dragons.

Needing bravery beyond his wildest dreams, Bilbo's adventure brings forth confrontations with trolls, stone giants, goblins, evil wolves, giant spiders and fire breathing dragons. Can he overcome his fears and help win back the stolen treasure?  

The Hobbit is a prelude to the J.R.R. Tolkien's series, The Lord of the Rings. There are three books in this series - Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Together with The Hobbit, they have also been recently made into movies.

To learn more about this series, visit J.R.R. Tolkien's best books.