Is Lord of the Rings ok for an 8 year old?

briSING - gəmən where the ə represents the not-really-a-vowel-at-all neutral sound that squeezes in there if I run the hard-g, m and n together quickly without much enounciation.

Not the point , but for those who read Alan Garner , did you pronounce it Bri-sing -ga-men in your head ( ie equal emphasis ) or BRISING- a - men . My uncle used to use the latter. I've probably explained that very badly 😊

My DC all loved the Edge Chronicles and they are beautiful books. They also loved the Bone series of graphic novels (which tend to be massively overlooked, especially in the YA area)

The black riders at the start are quite scary

A fair point - I think the only one I found genuinely horrifying was the one in the countryside with the spooky corn circles and things. But I was probably more like 9 or 10.

OP - on a completely different note, I read all of Judy Blume's books somewhere between 8-10 and liked those. Except Forever, because all the sex stuff was boring to me at that point.

She might like Terry Pratchett (the Tiffany series or the carpet people or truckers series)

I think there is an evolution in the language - the first book - focusing on hobbits is easily readable but by the third book the language has become quite lofty representing the men of Gondor. It is a totally different book which is why it’s easier to read at about age 13-15. I loved the Alan Garner books and my children loved the Susan Cooper series.
Agree with the others - Phil Pullman is mid to late teens as adult themes.

Agree with PP that there's nothing inappropriate in LOTR for an 8 year OLD (other than lots of death) , but she is likely to enjoy it more if she waits a couple of years.

Tolkien wrote the Hobbit for his own children, which is why 8 is probably the perfect age to read it for the first time. It's themes are on a much smaller scale then LOTR.

Personally I would try and avoid watching the movies beforehand. They are fantastic, but I think it's better to read the book first and visualise it with your own imagination without the assistance of Peter Jackson.

The only issue I ever had with Lord of the Rings was my dad telling me it was going to be so hard for me to read so I didn’t bother for years! I actually loved it but admittedly I’m sure I was in secondary school when I got around to it. So she probably is a bit young for it but if she’s a voracious reader she needs to have the option and I don’t think you should put her off as she might just assume the book is too long and boring and not try. And it’s a wonderful book.

My son and I both read it about that age and loved it. There was a lot I appreciated more as I got older but there was more than enough to hook me! My son needed a little encouragement at a few difficult points so we read with him for a chapter or so and then he picked up and sailed on alone. I would say it really repays reading aloud - Tolkien uses a lot of poetic techniques like alliteration and rhythm in his prose that you just don't always appreciate when reading silently.

Lots of good suggestions here including the other Tolkien books like Farmer Giles (though definitely not The Children of Hurin, very dark!), Diana Wynne Jones, Eoin Colfer, Alan Garner, Susan Cooper.

Just let her try. I don't understand trying to put kids off because it is hard. Sadly by ten lots of kids have given up on reading.

Eragon and the series that follows it is a cracking read.

I devoured it at 6, but was a precocious brat. 11ish would be more typical.

I absolutely hate the Hobbit films (love LOTR films). So so over long.

It's always amused me that Elrond is this big serious Elven chief in LOTR, and meanwhile the elves in the Hobbit are busily singing fa la la lally and other such nonsense 😂

The dwarven songs read more like poetry, I can cope with them alright, and agree the films did a superb job with converting it to music. I really should seek out the "book cut" of the Hobbit films, without any of that nonsense with Radogast or Kili's romantic adventures. I think it might be on YouTube 🤔

She needs the Five Realms series by Kieran Larwood. I'm a big fantasy fan myself and reading it to my son (slightly younger but there are quite complex themes) has been an experience we've both loved. Do not be fooled by it being about rabbits!

We also read The Hobbit together, I've read LotR but there's a bit too much lore and Tom Bombadil singing for a kid I think

Some of my DC read LotR at around that age and enjoyed. Not read the full thread but they also loved the Eragon series.

I second the Chronicles of Prydain (The Book of Three etc). Also the Dark Is Rising sequence.

For something slightly more aimed at the younger reader, Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh and sequels. The Last of the Dragons by E Nesbit.

I also loved the Hobbit, and aged 11 got really bogged down in LOTR (in fact I realised 15 years later when we listened to the radio series that I hadn't actually finished it).

Consequently I attempted to discourage S1 from reading it age 8, to no avail. He had no trouble at all (and technically he wasn't as good a reader as I was even at the same age).

Years later he interrupted my well-rehearsed spiel about the bleak grey stoniness of bleak grey stony Mordor (the point at which I gave up) with "Mum! It's about half a page!"😄

I remember another school mother telling me that her son, in Yr6 at the time, told her he'd spent breaktimes playing Lord of the Rings "with the little guys" in Yr3 - he was dyslexic but had really enjoyed her reading it to him.

Oh, and they watched the films before S2 was 12. Not sure exactly when, but I know the original plan was to wait till 12 but then we decided it wasn't necessary.

The Box of Delights might be good. I didn't read that until I was an adult - can't now remember whether I saw the classic BBC adaptation first, or read the book, but they're both great.

I don't know if they're still in print but when my son was about 8 or 9 he and many of his friends were very into The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Beautiful illustrations which are an essential part of the books, not just an add on.

I first attempted to read it at about 11 and struggled, tried again at 13 and got a bit bored, then picked it up again at 15 and absolutely loved it. Maybe I was a late developer but blimey all those reading it at 7 and 8 please tell me you were just skimming a lot of the detailed passages or at least missing much of the nuance? Feeling very inadequate 😅

Yikes the Weirdstone of Brisingamen- brilliant but also bloody terrifying. The bit in the mine shaft :-o read it in broad daylight as an adult and still my blood ran cold, never ever could consider going caving after reading that! <shivers>

Also the LOTR is loooong and the dwarf songs, Tom Bombadil and whatnot are highly tedious. If she’s into that world you could watch the movies with her because the dwarf songs are not too bad when used as background music! but I can’t remember if they are suitable are for an 8yo.

OMG not the Deptford Mice it’s fucking terrifying, really horrific. Cute animals murdering their siblings, diseased creatures who eating off their own fingers :-0 absolutely horrible.

how about some Diana Wynne Jones instead?!

For you Dark is Rising fans, there's a nice adaptation the BBC did at Christmas a couple of years ago, it's what got my son into reading the books:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvp7?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile