Happy Hobbit Day, book lovers! September 22 is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and what better way to celebrate than to get cozy with a snack and a good book? Luckily I have six books for Hobbit fans to choose from. Read on!

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

After years of hard living and battling her way across the world, Viv, the orc barbarian, decides to hang up her sword. She settles down in the city of Thune to start a new adventure: opening a coffee shop. However, her dreams of a fresh start are easier said than done. Old enemies team up with new ones, and the city might just be more dangerous than the battlefield. If Viv wants to build something that lasts, she must assemble a crew and buckle down for a new sort of adventure.

Legends & Lattes is a cozy, slice-of-life fantasy that turns expected fantasy tropes and character types on their heads. Like The Hobbit, Travis Baldree’s debut novel follows an unexpected call to adventure with an atypical hero and truly enticing descriptions of food and drink.

RELATED: Book Review: Legends & Lattes

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The cover of The Girl Who Drank the Moon has a girl with dark hair a nd a blue dress looking out on a large full moon. A tiny dragon and paper cranes fly around her.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate off a baby to the forest witch Xan to keep them from harm. However, when Xan accidentally imbues a baby with powerful moonlight instead of starlight, she raises the child Luna as her own and locks her magic away. As Luna’s powers emerge on her 13th birthday, she must confront a young man determined to kill Xan while protecting the people who protected her.

Dragons, swamp monsters and magic abound in The Girl Who Drank the Moon. It’s perfect for the young readers The Hobbit was originally intended for; Kelly Barnhill’s novel easily stands among the classics.

Redwall by Brian Jacques

In the peaceful Mossflower Wood, a menacing threat emerges. The sinister, one-eyed rat Cluny and his horde are on their way to conquer Redwall Abbey. The only hope for the besieged mice is the lost sword of Martin the Warrior. The epic quest falls upon a young, initially clumsy apprentice who must rise to the challenge, fight back, and ultimately become a legendary figure in his own right.

Redwall is just the right introduction to fantasy tropes to young readers interested in the genre. There’s plenty of good versus evil and a hesitant, untrained chosen one swept along into adventure. Brian Jacques’ series is 22 books long, so there’s plenty to enjoy.

RELATED: Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day With These 5 Fabulous Pirate Stories

Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

The cover of Kiki's Delivery Service has a girl with black hair, a red bow, and a black dress riding a broom high above an island. A black cat clings to the back of the broom.

On her thirteenth birthday, half-witch Kiki embarks on a tradition of choosing a new town to call home for a year. With confidence and her witty black cat, Jiji, she heads to the seaside village of Koriko, hoping to use her powers to bring happiness to the locals. She soon finds, however, that gaining the locals’ trust may be more challenging than she anticipated. As Kiki forges friendships and discovers the magic in ordinary life, she discovers that magic can be found in the everyday moments of life.

Whimsical and charming, Kiki’s Delivery Service is a great read for fans of The Hobbit. Eiko Kadono perfectly blends fantasy with everyday charm and episodic adventures for a delightful story.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

When the Pevensie children find a hidden door within the wardrobe of a professor’s mysterious old house, it transports them to the land of Narnia. There they find a country suffering under the powerful grip of the White Witch. With the help of the noble lion Aslan, they join the fight to free Narnia from the witch’s dark enchantment.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a true example of classic fantasy. Full of unlikely heroes and delightful yet terrifying magic, the influence C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had on each other is clear.

RELATED: 5 Retellings of Classic Stories You Need to Read

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The cover of The Starless Sea is black and covered with gray ribbons twined with gold keys.

When Zachary Ezra Rawlins finds a misshelved book in his university’s library, he’s shocked to find a passage that perfectly describes a moment from his own childhood. Desperate for answers, he sets off on a quest that leads from his university to a masquerade in New York and, eventually, to the Starless Sea itself. It’s a sort of endless library, full of books and stories of all kinds. It also has its own destiny: to destroy itself so that, reborn like a phoenix, the current stories can finish and new ones begin.

This may be the book most unlike The Hobbit on this list – at its surface. Deep down, however, Erin Morgenstern‘s The Starless Sea is a timeless story full of characters you’ll immediately fall for and a beautiful, strange and magical narrative.

There you have it! Six charming fantasy books for The Hobbit fans to curl up with and get comfortable. Enjoy the day, Tolkien lovers.

5 Great Books About Libraries and Librarians

Latest posts by Alex Faccibene (see all)