THE HOBBIT or There and Back Again

by J. R. R. Tolkien ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 1938

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.

Pub Date: March 2, 1938

ISBN: 0395177111

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1938

Categories: CHILDREN'S