[Kath]

Having just flicked through the first chapter now, I came across something that I remember loving when I was younger, and that's the way that Tolkien writes it to be read. It's as if he is creating it for an audience that is there with him, who can interrupt and question him and who he has to keep the suspense for.

This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. he may have lost the neighbour's respect, but he gained - well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.

The mother of our particular hobbit - what is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us.

It feels like you as a reader are directly involved in the story from the very beginning, and all the description pulls you in, so you feel that you are really there. It also feels personalised thanks to the continued use of the word 'you'.

I love the conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf at the beginning as well with the variations on ‘Good morning’ and poor Bilbo being so confused.

As for talking down to children, I don't believe it does. The sheer amount of description in it takes a lot of concentration and understanding. I wonder if it's just that everything is slightly happier. As in the Elves being jolly rather than ethereal and Gandalf having very little in the way of a deeper/darker side.

Although, I am often thrown by Gandalf's use of the phrase, "Very amusing for me" when describing sending Bilbo on this Adventure. I always saw it as Tolkien trying to show a malicious side to Gandalf, that he wasn't all good.
Any thoughts?

I don't know that it's malicious exactly. More like he knew that Bilbo was going to be ok, that he'd manage to get through everything that was thrown at him, and it was more the way that Bilbo approached these tasks that he found amusing.