Hey Blog! This is my second book review of the year, the first being in January. This one is about a new book that I was given in February. Its protagonist lives in \u201ca hole in the ground\u201d also known as Bag End\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, it is The Hobbit<\/em>, by J. R. R. Tolkien. This epic fantasy tale was one of Tolkien\u2019s biggest and best creations, and came before The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, which is kind of a continuation, featuring objects and places that were first imagined for The Hobbit<\/em>. The story follows Bilbo Baggins, \u201ca hobbit of good family and unimpeachable reputation\u201d on a journey with thirteen dwarves to the Lonely Mountain and the treasure hoard of Smaug the dragon. The book was written around 1930 (no one can remember quite when it was started!). Very shortly after publication the first edition sold out \u2013 which shows you how good it was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story starts in Bag End, Bilbo\u2019s hobbit-hole, when Thorin & co. and the wizard Gandalf arrive on Bilbo\u2019s doorstep to ask him to join their expedition. After listening to a very inspiring song, Bilbo sets out with them the next morning. In a stop-off break just before the Misty Mountains, which they have to cross, it is discovered that the map has secret moon-rune-letters, which reveal the way to enter a secret side door to the mountain\u2019s halls. In the mountains Bilbo finds the One Ring (Hmmm, lord of the Ring<\/em>s?!), which grants invisibility to the wearer. This proves his greatest tool on the rest of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the \u201cEdge of the Wild\u201d (just after the mountains) they continue to Beorn\u2019s house, where Gandalf departs and the dwarves and Bilbo head through the forest of Mirkwood, defeating several dangers on the way. They are captured by the Elvenking on the farther side, and Bilbo\u2019s magic ring helps them to escape unnoticed; they then proceed down the river to Laketown. With a little help from the people of Laketown, they eventually arrive on the mountain\u2019s slopes, and Bilbo spies on Smaug. Smaug becomes enraged, and destroys Laketown, but is killed by a descendent of the Lord of Dale, a town that Smaug had plundered. Believing the dwarves dead, he and the Elvenking (who has also heard of the death of the dragon) march to the mountain and find Bilbo and Thorin\u2019s company alive. They besiege the mountain until a relative of Thorin arrives with a dwarven army. The rest? Well, you\u2019ll have to read the book!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I said that \u201ca very inspiring song\u201d encourages Bilbo to go on the journey, and this song is in fact \u201cFar over the Misty Mountains cold\u201d. In the first of the weekly posts on Home Ed In A Shed (My week) I said we try to do a poem every week, and two weeks ago, after I said I wanted to do \u2018poems out of books\u2019 we chose this one first. It tells of the desire of the dwarves, in their yearning for gaining back the gold the dragon had stolen. If you are a hobbit you will probably feel the magic of the words and tune, and if you are a human you\u2019ll probably feel it as well! The poem has a strong beat, very reminiscent of the hammers that the dwarves used in their forges, shaping gold, silver and gems that were sent for them to make into beautiful things, in return for a share of the treasure. It also tells of the coming of the dragon, i.e. \u201cthe fire red, it flaming spread, the trees like torches blazed with light\u201d and in the last verse, the wish to gain back what they had lost: \u201cTo win our harps and gold from him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed our trip There And Back Again through The Hobbit<\/em>. Would you like to go on a journey to steal gold from a dragon\u2026?!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey Blog! This is my second book review of the year, the first being in January. This one is about a new book that I was given in February. Its protagonist lives in \u201ca hole in the ground\u201d also known as Bag End\u2026 Of course, it is The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-ed-in-a-shed-2"],"yoast_head":"\n