Next up someone is going to claim that the Narnia series isn't kids books.

Anyone who reads it should recognize that, because it's a cute adventure story about a funny little guy and some dwarves and a dragon. Also, if you've read LOTR as well, you should be able to easily recognize that the style of language used in the Hobbit is simpler than LOTR. And so are the story elements used. Because it's for a younger audience, purposefully.

On top of that, if you look into the history of how and why the Hobbit got written, you will find out that it was originally a bedtime story that Tolkien told to his kids.

I work in a library, and I frequently refer to the Hobbit as "the gateway drug" for the works of Tolkien. Because it's an easy place to start. You dip your toes in, you decide if you like hobbits or not, or if you like this type of fantasy adventure or not, then you can go from there. BECAUSE IT'S FOR KIDS.

I personally read it at around 8 years old, probably. And it was fine. I loved it. And now I give it to a bunch of other kids at my job and guess what? They love it too.