Of the Return of the Noldor and Of Beleriand and its Realms

Tonight in our Silmarillion reading we read Of the Return of the Noldor and Of Beleriand and its Realms. The second chapter was a bit hard for the kids to follow as there was no narrative, but I tried to keep their attention by continually pointing at the map.

Following are some of the questions and observations that they made.

“…the ages of the stars were ended.”

8YO: “You mean there were no more stars?”

I explained stars were still around at night just like they ate now and that made sense to her once she thought about it.

When we game to the size of Thorondor (wingspan = 30 fathoms) I explained using our neighborhood just how big that was (~180 feet) and the kid’s eyes got very large.

6YO: “That’s GINORMOUS!!”

“Now on a time Finrod and Galadriel his sister…”

6YO: *sigh* “Why is there so much about Galadriel?”

8YO: “Where is Sauron when all of this is taking place?”

Me: “You’re just going to have to wait and find out.”

When we read about the original Minas Tirith upon Tol Sirion the eight year old perked up in surprise. I explained that this one was the original tower that the later Minas Anor was renamed after.

8YO: “Oh yeah, the Tower of Guard.”

When we talked about Ungoliant dwelling in the Nan Dungortheb the eight year old remembered that Shelob was her descendant.