The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

The Hobbit tells the famous story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who is caught up in the affairs of wizards. His journey through Mirkwood and the climactic confrontation with the dragon Smaug served as the launching point for Tolkien's transformative trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Many of the essential elements of Tolkien's classic saga have their roots in this children's book.

The story remains popular, and stands as one of the most enduring (and endearing) stories of the last century. The Hobbit sparked a creative explosion in speculative fiction, a fire that burns brightly to this day. The revival in interest in recent years, in part due to the popularity of the film series inspired by Tolkien's books only shows the timelessness of his story, and the importance of his work.

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.