That’s funny! Kids really are crazy about The Hobbit.
I just learned that my niece is crazy about the poem, and has read it countless times. Tonight I recorded myself reading it for her, and will upload it to YouTube so she can listen to her uncle perform a reading.
As a side note, you may be aware that the Times tags many of its pieces with keywords, creating an online index of topics, so readers can reference work that connects to each tag. I was tickled to see that when this piece was published on the 21st, the Times added a new tag, “Hobbit-Book”, to index future articles referencing Tolkien’s work.
After we studied The Hobbit, I read all of “The Lord of the Rings” to teh byos, and now we’re reading “The Silmarillion.” (”You do too like it, James. It’s full of Vocabulary.” James is the one who’s not the sharpest knife in the chandelier.)
“Teh byos” are the four youngest sons: Patrick, 13; James, 11; Daniel, 9; Frank, 5.