Activities
An Introduction to THE HOBBIT
Have you ever loved a book so much you read it seven times? My brother, Chris, read The Hobbit, or There and Back Again seven times. The book has hundreds of pages!
I’ve read it twice, and hope you will read it or ask someone to read it to you when you feel strong enough and ready to travel in your mind into a fantastic world of fairies and goblins, wizards and hobbits, danger and escape, and battles between good and evil. The author tells his story using elegant language.
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel and children’s book written by J.R.R. Tolkien, an English writer and professor, published in 1937. The book is so well loved it has never gone out of print. It is one of the great literary classics.
The main character is Bilbo Baggins. He is a hobbit, a smallish creature with hairy toes who loves comfort yet finds within himself the courage to be an adventurer and a hero.
One of the characters he meets on his journey is Gollum, a slimy, wicked creature who lives alone underground in the dark, eats fish and goblins, and loves only his precious.
The precious is a powerful magic golden ring once found by Gollum which, when worn on your finger, makes you invisible.
One of the most remembered scenes in this story is the riddle game between Bilbo and Gollum. Bilbo finds himself in underground tunnels with Gollum. They make a deal. If Bilbo can ask a riddle Gollum cannot answer, Gollum will show Bilbo the way out of the tunnels.
Bilbo asks Gollum, “What have I got in my pocket? . . . What about your promise? I want to go. You must show me the way.”
Gollum replies, “Did we say so, precious? Show the nassty little Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what has it got in its pocketses, eh?”
Can YOU guess what Bilbo has in his pocket? Here’s a hint: it’s round and gold.
Now you can play The Riddle Game, too! Click on Imagination Games in the green box at the top left of this page.