Can children appreciate The Lord of the Rings?

[Thingol]

I was thinking about this while I was reading Lindil's post about how he read The Hobbit to his daughter when she was 3 and later 4, and is now reading the Fellowship of the Ring to her (Located in Why do you read Tolkien). As someone who re-reads almost everything at least once, I believe that the first time you read something is always the most fun. When I first read The Hobbit I was 12, and immediately went out and read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. About 6 months later I read The Unfinished Tails and then The Silm. I distinctly remember the first time reading the Trilogy thinking that Saruman and Sauron were one in the same until the end of book 5. I have regretted not waiting another few years to read the books all my short life. While I am sure that Lindil's daughter is far more intelligent and perceptive at 4 than I was at 12, can a child really take away the same feeling from the first reading that an adult could? One day I hope to have children of my own, what age do you think is appropriate for someone to begin reading the books? Just to be clear, I'm not passing judgement on anyone and am not trying to demean the intelligence of anyone’s children. I am sure that whatever age seems appropriate to me before I have kids will go out the window in my anxiousness to share Tolkien with them. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[ January 24, 2002: Message edited by: Thingol ]