Although there are lots of worthy books that deserve time and attention; The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are fundamentally different from anything else that exists in literature. Tolkien’s works set in Middle Earth are intricate, expansive, and allow readers to immerse themselves in a world that feels as complex and real as our own. Tolkien’s use of language and imagery are unmatched as readers journey through epic landscapes and on incredible journeys of hope, sacrifice, courage, and corruption. Despite its complexities, the stories are approachable and are massively impactful. These four books can be life-changing for students as an entry point to life-long readership that they may not get anywhere else.

As an English teacher, I spend a lot of time trying to connect students with the right books. Out of the books that come and go in my classroom, The Hobbit is the only one that seems to hit home and stick with just about everyone. When my 8th graders read it, they are instantly enthralled. From the first day they laugh at Gandalf’s witty dialog and at my terrible dwarvish singing. By the time we reach the end of the novel and do our culminating performative final, my classroom, the school library and the town library have a run on the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy when, for those students, they get to start a new adventure with the fellowship.

The journey through Middle Earth works like nothing else to transform students disinterested in books into voracious readers. This year, students requested music from The Hobbit at a school dance and sang and danced to “Far Over the Misty Mountain Cold” together in earnest and not in the least bit ironically. I’ve watched students debate in their free time who would make a better boyfriend–Thorin or Bilbo and skip their math homework to read the trilogy. It’s funny to think about those anecdotes, but they show how the books affect them.

Every student deserves to experience Middle Earth but not all have the opportunity–that’s where we come in. Through our work, we hope to open doors for both teachers and students by providing them with access to the books, resources, and matching Common-Core curriculum. We are guided as an organization by some of Sam’s wisdom in The Two Towers, “...there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for. “

-Jeff Lukach, Chair and English Teacher