Oh boy did I get a reaction to the return of Gandalf as the kids met the White Rider for the first time.
First I got stunned silence as I read his name (they didn’t recognize Legolas saying Mithrandir a couple lines earlier). Then a loud squeal came from the six year old and the following exchange ensued.
8YO: “Daddy!!!”
6YO (upset): “DAD!!! DAD!! YOU LIED!!!”
8YO (annoyed): “Hmmmm.”
6YO: “Why didn’t you tell us? He lived.”
Me: “He really did die.”
6YO: “He didn’t!”
4YO: “Remember, he died when the bridge broke.”
6YO (very emotional): *storms off and then comes back a minute later*: “Daddy. It’s not fair!!” *stamps feet*
They both wondered why I didn’t tell them and so my wife and I both explained that they’d experienced what everyone had reading the story for the first time and that he really had died but had been sent back. They calmed down then and listened to the rest of the chapter. When we got to Gandalf’s explanation of his fight with the balrog near the end of the chapter they were glad to hear the details. The eight year old ultimately agreed it was a great surprise on Tolkien’s part, but the six year old isn’t sure about the whole thing.
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