From Common Sense Media: Parents need to know that if kids are ready to see the excellent Lord of the Rings movies they're ready to read the trilogy, starting with The Fellowship of the Ring -- though arguably scenes fighting orcs and worse in the mines of Moria and ones with the undead dark riders pursuing the hobbits can seem extra creepy when you take the book to bed. One character almost dies and one is mourned; there's some fighting with swords and bows, but giant battle scenes are saved for the next two books. The hobbits and men like to smoke their pipe-weed and drink wine and beer. They also sing long ballads, sometimes in the author's made-up languages -- Tolkien's Middle Earth is just that fully imagined.

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