Goodness, so many young readers 'round here. I thought I was pretty young to read LOTR at about 12.
This is a clever thread,
Snowdog.
I would have to say I'm something of an equal mix of
Eldar by Bakshi Recruit (although really more aptly
Rankin-Bass Recruit) and
First-Born. My mother an Old-School Book fan (of the 70s variety) often read aloud to us during the winters when I was a kid. When I was about 8 years old she bought us the Hobbit book and the Rankin-Bass movie for Christmas and we read it aloud together and then watched the movie afterward. It was magic. Here I am.
I got the Bakshi LOTR and R-B ROTK as soon as I could, and though I always could see what was obviously wrong with them, I still enjoy them nostalgically--and frequently. And I am a firm believer that if a live-action Hobbit movie is made, I won't like it better. *Stubborn* The R-B version is
whimsical.
Sophia