It's worth it. A great aunt bought me the Hobbit when I was around five, and I immediately took to the whole Lord of the Rings series, Silmarillion, etc. By 10

It's worth it. A great aunt bought me the Hobbit when I was around five, and I immediately took to the whole Lord of the Rings series, Silmarillion, etc. By 10 I'd read every Tolkien book I had ever heard of, including ones by his son that I didn't even realize. My best friend to this day was just as freakish, and it turns out not only was it pretty much what taught us how to read, but we kept track of many of the characters and stories the same way– by drawing all of it. Personally, without them I don't know if I would have appreciated books, period. Some kids will go to great lengths to match with the things they're given, so there's certainly no harm in gifting a copy of at least the Hobbit and testing whether or not they'll really enjoy it.