The Voice of Saruman and The Palantír

Tonight we read birth The Voice of Saruman and The Palantír (since they’re fairly short and related) and finished up book three.

When the Palantír was thrown down the eight year old thought maybe it was a bomb. Then she guessed that Wormtongue threw it down right before I read that. A bit later she asked more about Saruman.

8YO: “How long could Saruman live?”

I explained that he was virtually immortal like the Elves and her eyes got wide. I guess I hadn’t explained how long the Elves could live.

8YO: “What is Saruman’s name?”

Me: “Just Saruman. He isn’t Saruman the White any more.”

8YO: “So he looks like different colors depending on how you look at him?”

Me: “Yep.”

A bit later as we saw Pippen’s usage of the Palantír I asked if the kids understood now it worked. When they said they weren’t sure I explained that it was like a FaceTime call and then they understood.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Tonight we caught up on the Ent assault on Isengard as we read Flotsam and Jetsam. The eight year old drew this picture of Treebeard and a frightened Wormtongue.

The Road to Isengard

As soon as the kids heard “Gandalf the White” tonight at the start of The Road to Isengard they had objections. Apparently renaming a character isn’t cool.

6YO: “Gandalf the Grey.”

Me: “He is Gandalf the White now.”

6YO: “That’s not fair.”

8YO: “Why does HE get to change his name?”

4YO: “He is just Gandalf.”

6YO (grumpy): “That’s not fair!”

Me: “Why do you think it is not fair?”

6YO: “Because he was Gandalf the Grey first!!!”

Helm's Deep

While we read about the battle Helm’s Deep the eight year old had an interesting idea. When I read about the boulder she interjected “maybe it’s Gimli trying to beat Legolas. Check upstairs.” Then when Aragorn asked about Gimli she further said “maybe they should check where the boulder came from. That’s what I would do.” While we know he wasn’t there it would have been a great way for Gimli to increase his count!

The White Rider and The King of the Golden Hall

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.

Treebeard

Today we made our way deep into Fangorn Forest and met Treebeard. Here you can see some artwork by my eight year old showing when the three characters met. The six year old also had fun drawing a tall Ent next to Merry and Pippen.

Early in the chapter I was asked more about Ents so I explained how they were turned into trolls by Morgoth, forgetting that Treebeard related that history near the end of the chapter.

The Uruk-Hai

Tonight we read The Uruk-Hai and got closer to Fangorn. Early on the six year old wondered: “What do Orcs look like?”

As I explained I said that they used to be elves that were twisted by Morgoth, the original dark lord. Later the eight year old asked if the Orcs were older than Sauron. I said that Sauron was very old but then I realized she thought he had come about after the Orcs since he wasn’t the original dark lord so I explained that Sauron had served Morgoth before starting his own venture.

During dinner (we broke for dinner halfway through the chapter) as we were eating fajitas the six year old asked if sour cream could melt. I told her it could and then the eight year old joked “Saruman” as she thought it sounded very similar to sour cream.

The Riders of Rohan

 Today we made it deep into Rohan (about 135 miles

). When the six year old heard Éomer talk about Gandalf taking Shadowfax she asked “If the story was different and Gandalf was alive do you think that Shadowfax would let Gandalf ride him again?”

Great question.

The Departure of Boromir

After finishing Fellowship I decided to read the first chapter of Two Towers since it is so short and allows us to give Boromir’s redemption on the same night as his betrayal.

Here is a drawing from my eight year old of Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas setting off to rescue Merry and Pippen that she drew as I finished up the chapter.

The Breaking of the Fellowship

The Fellowship broke as we just finished reading book two. The six year old didn’t like Boromir talking to Frodo saying he “is someone else in disguise or has been turned evil!” Then she had the hypothesis that he was Sauron in disguise. 

The Great River

Today we floated further down Anduin the Great as we read The Great River. The eight year old guessed “Gollum?” right before I read his name. The six year old then screamed “oh no!!!”

Every part of the chapter after that point that she found slightly suspenseful she would crouch on her heels and call out “Gollum! Gollum!” in a guttural voice as she thought he was involved.

The Mirror of Galadriel and Farewell to Lórien

Tonight we read The Mirror of Galadriel and Farewell to Lórien. I have no fun quotes to pass on (though the six year old was happy people got gifts), but we had a good time reading by a campfire in our back yard as the day was nice and warm.

Then we listened to Tolkien’s rendition of Galadriel’s song since I knew I’d butcher it if I tried to read the whole thing. Tomorrow I expect a good reaction when the Fellowship discovers Gollum following them.

Lothlórien

Last night we read the Bridge of Khazad-dûm as a bonus chapter since it is fairly short. Today we read Lothlórien and as the Fellowship came to the edge of the wood and prepared to climb a tree my six year old was reminded of another forest.

6YO: “Don’t get in them. They might be spider trees!”

Once Haldir spoke to Legolas she cried out “I told you it was a spider tree. Or…it might be Gandalf and he survived.”

8YO: “He didn’t survive.”

6YO: “He’s a wizard!”

8YO: “He’s not that great of one.”

6YO: “Yes he is. He’s Gandalf the Grey!”

4YO: “But Gandalf died when the bridge cracked.”

8YO: “Nobody could have survived that pit without wings.”

A Journey in the Dark and The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm

Today the Fellowship descended into the depths of Khazad-Dûm as we read A Journey in the Dark. But before they passed the door they came to the dark lake and my six year old came up with a novel theory. “They probably made a stream from Gollum’s lake and brought it here. Because Gollum’s lake was dark and evil.”

I’ve also attached some pictures that my eight year old drew while she was listening to the chapter. This first one shows the Fellowship on the way to and at the entrance to Moria.

The Fellowship inside Moria.