Just had to share this!
So, my older son Eldarion, now six, was refusing to go to sleep the other night (as usual) so after I finished reading to him and his younger brother (I think we'll call him NZ Striderling, who had already fallen asleep), I turned the lights out and told him a story. After explaining a bit about The Hobbit, I told him an abridged version of Chapter 1. I started by reciting the first page nearly verbatim (don't most of us have that memorized?), and ended with Bilbo running out of his house to meet the Dwarves. Well, the story didn't have the desired effect (Eldarion was still wide awake, entranced), but the next day to my surprise, Eldarion begged me to tell him more. So I pulled out Doug Anderson's annotated second edition (it has a fair number of pictures with it) and told him if he really wanted, we'd read the book. I had to explain that it has a number of scary parts but Bilbo always comes out okay (Eldarion is very easily scared -- not too long ago he was frightened to pieces over a My Little Pony video!), and he was satisfied with my reassurance. So, with NZ Striderling snuggled up too, we launched into Chapter Two (he wouldn't let me read Chapter 1, as he was too eager to get on with the story!). Even though it was mid-afternoon and high time for wild hijinks outside, they insisted we immediately read Chapter 3 as well!
Yesterday afternoon, they were both bouncing on the couch saying "Hobbit! Hobbit! Hobbit!" rather like two frogs saying "Ribbit". We finished Chapter 5, Riddles in the Dark, last night. When I read the bit about "and that was the last they ever saw of those good ponies", Eldarion gasped loudly, "Oh NO!!!!" And he was so spooked by Gollum at the end of the riddle game that he desperately tried to tell me we'd read enough for the night and should save the rest for later and shouldn't we get on to reading Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs instead right now please? (Meanwhile, NZ Striderling is completely unworried and just enjoying the story.) They both loved the riddle game -- I tried to get them to guess the answers, and NZ Striderling actually guessed "FISH!" for the "Alive without mail" riddle, and also "DARK!" for the appropriate one. Clever little lad.
We're partway into Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire by tonight, and both of them are eagerly looking forward to meeting Smaug (they've both read ahead a bit, and admired the pictures), whom NZ Striderling at first was calling Faug. (Really!)
I've been looking forward to reading this with them since they were born, so it's really exciting finally to be able to share it with them! Given how easily Eldarion is usually spooked by scary things, I thought I'd have to wait til he was a bit older, so I'm really pleased they're both so eager right now.
So, my older son Eldarion, now six, was refusing to go to sleep the other night (as usual) so after I finished reading to him and his younger brother (I think we'll call him NZ Striderling, who had already fallen asleep), I turned the lights out and told him a story. After explaining a bit about The Hobbit, I told him an abridged version of Chapter 1. I started by reciting the first page nearly verbatim (don't most of us have that memorized?), and ended with Bilbo running out of his house to meet the Dwarves. Well, the story didn't have the desired effect (Eldarion was still wide awake, entranced), but the next day to my surprise, Eldarion begged me to tell him more. So I pulled out Doug Anderson's annotated second edition (it has a fair number of pictures with it) and told him if he really wanted, we'd read the book. I had to explain that it has a number of scary parts but Bilbo always comes out okay (Eldarion is very easily scared -- not too long ago he was frightened to pieces over a My Little Pony video!), and he was satisfied with my reassurance. So, with NZ Striderling snuggled up too, we launched into Chapter Two (he wouldn't let me read Chapter 1, as he was too eager to get on with the story!). Even though it was mid-afternoon and high time for wild hijinks outside, they insisted we immediately read Chapter 3 as well!
Yesterday afternoon, they were both bouncing on the couch saying "Hobbit! Hobbit! Hobbit!" rather like two frogs saying "Ribbit". We finished Chapter 5, Riddles in the Dark, last night. When I read the bit about "and that was the last they ever saw of those good ponies", Eldarion gasped loudly, "Oh NO!!!!" And he was so spooked by Gollum at the end of the riddle game that he desperately tried to tell me we'd read enough for the night and should save the rest for later and shouldn't we get on to reading Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs instead right now please? (Meanwhile, NZ Striderling is completely unworried and just enjoying the story.) They both loved the riddle game -- I tried to get them to guess the answers, and NZ Striderling actually guessed "FISH!" for the "Alive without mail" riddle, and also "DARK!" for the appropriate one. Clever little lad.
We're partway into Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire by tonight, and both of them are eagerly looking forward to meeting Smaug (they've both read ahead a bit, and admired the pictures), whom NZ Striderling at first was calling Faug. (Really!)
I've been looking forward to reading this with them since they were born, so it's really exciting finally to be able to share it with them! Given how easily Eldarion is usually spooked by scary things, I thought I'd have to wait til he was a bit older, so I'm really pleased they're both so eager right now.
