Our family fun theme for 2024 was based on Tolkien’s books: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But here is a list of books about JRR Tolkien and the fantasy setting of his books! It’s always interesting to read the author’s backstory and understand the inspiration behind the books.
This post may contain Amazon Affiliate Links. I may earn a few cents on qualifying purchases. Thanks in advance for helping with the costs of running this blog!
What’s a Family Fun Theme?
Starting in 2021, we have chosen a fun theme for the year. Our past themes have been: Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Super Mario Brothers. Following the year’s theme, we read books, buy board games, watch movies, play video games, and cook themed food. If the kids so choose, I decorate their birthday cakes and do costumes according to the theme.
Well, halfway through 2023, my husband took it upon himself to do The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy as bedtime read-alouds. (I certainly wasn’t going to argue!) It took him about 18 months, so all of 2024, and we had so much fun watching each movie after we finished the book; multiple movies in the case of The Hobbit.
By the way, if you’re study Ancient or Medieval History, Tolkien’s works fit in beautifully. You can see the inspiration of these historical time periods in his writing and also in the movie sets, costumes, music, and language.
Books about JRR Tolkien
This picture book biography describes Tolkien’s childhood. His mother died when he was young and, like many other boys in England during that time, he attended boarding school. The book also tells of how he fought in the Great War and the influence that had upon his writing.
This graphic novel was such an interesting read for me. It is a biography of two phenomenal authors and their friendship: JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. The book first describes each of their childhoods, and then their time in the trenches of the Great War (WWI). These two men met at Oxford and formed a literary group that lasted for years. Tolkien and Lewis’ friendship had its high and low points but definitely inspired their greatest works of literature. For JRR Tolkien, this was The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and for CS Lewis it was The Chronicles of Narnia.
It was fascinating to have insight into how their writing styles were so different. The book also has a few appendices where you can learn about the roots of the fantasy novel, and also dive into more of the authors’ backstories.
The book goes back and forth between regular paragraphs and then panels illustrated in graphic novel style. I enjoyed the format, but, as usual, the font in the graphic novel portion is pretty small. This book is definitely for adults and could easily be enjoyed by young adults as young as 11 or 12. Definitely add this to your to-be-read list of books about JRR Tolkien.
Books about Middle Earth
This trivia and quiz book is really fun, especially if you know Tolkien’s biography. After reading The Mythmakers, I was able to answer most of the questions about Tolkien’s life and inspiration for his works. The trivia questions also test your knowledge about the fantasy world and characters from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
This book is an oversized book for kids to dive into the backstories of the main characters from Middle Earth (the world of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings). It covers more characters from The Hobbit than The Lord of the Rings. There are a few pages to fold out, a few flaps to lift, and a few such relics as “a snip of Gandalf’s scarf” or “strands of horsehair.” My kids enjoyed reading through this book and its beautiful illustrations.
Here are the page headings:
- Bilbo the Hobbit
- Sméagol the Hobbit and Gollum the Creature
- Smaug the Magnificent and the Dragons
- King Thorin, also known as Thorin Oakenshield
- Gwaihir, Roac and the Fantastic Birds
- Vin, the Magic Whale
- Gandalf, the Wizard
- Beorn the Bear Man
- Mirkwood Forest
- Master Elrond the Half-elven and Thranduil, the Elvenking
- On Esgaroth Lake
- Bard the Bowman
- Nahar and the Magical Chargers
- the Elves Trees of Light
This book also provides much interesting information about characters and places in Middle Earth. It is more of a reference book to have on hand for the kids who wish to look up more information, though.
How to Draw Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves
I like to have these types of books to “strew,” or purposely leave out, in case the kids are interested. If you have a young artist, they may enjoy the drawing ideas in this book.
And…a Cookbook
Recipes from the World of Tolkien
Have you ever wanted to make food as you read about it in a book? This is always so fun for us, when we do it. I found it easier to have this cookbook on hand, with little snippets of explanation from the book and pretty illustrations throughout. (Disclaimer: there are a few typos to ignore, if those bother you!)
Most of the recipes are English and I did not cook every single one throughout the year, as I had intended. But for my husband’s birthday, I did make seven recipes from the book that followed the seven Hobbit meals: Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Supper, and Dinner. The cookbook is also divided according to these meals: so much fun! And if you try it, definitely make some of the recipes the day before so that you can also sit down and enjoy eating with everyone!
Hobbit Valentines Freebie
I made these Hobbit Valentines for the kids last year. Grab this freebie below! And check out my booklist on the Origin on Valentine’s Day.