Walking With Bilbo: A Review and a Look Ahead at Lesson Plans

Next Semester Charles will be reading The Hobbit as his literature unit. I've read it aloud to all the kids before, but it has been quite a while. And I think now is a good time to capitalize on his interest while the movie is fresh in his mind. I was able to review a devotional guide that I think will make a perfect companion to his unit study: Walking With Bilbo by Sarah Arthur

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This is a book of twenty-two short chapters that use themes from The Hobbit to explore spiritual concepts. It is meant for youth or adults. Each chapter looks at a part of The Hobbit and draws spiritual insight. At the end of each chapter are some questions to take it farther and some Bible passages for further reading.

 I really liked several things about this book:
1. The chapters were short and succinct and easy to read as a devotional. This will be a plus for my son who doesn't enjoy long, wordy chapters.
2. You really could read and understand this devotional without having read the book- especially if you had seen the movie- but the link between the two made this a very rich and meaningful reading experience.
3. Tolkien's works were never meant to be true allegories, and the author points this out. But she does a very good job drawing the spiritual truths (of which there are many) out of Tolkien's work.

This is a great companion to reading The Hobbit, and I think Charles will enjoy using it with his literature unit.

 I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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