Just Literature discussion

Immensely popular, of course. Dare I criticise on such a forum, I wonder? I read this before I read Lord of the Rings, which I then read several times over a period of years. But The Hobbit struck me at the first read, and again as I read it to my young daughter, as rather condescending in tone. The author talks down to the reader a great deal, which must be off-putting to a wide range of readers. Just an observation: agree or not?