I’m reading aloud to the boys now. I began reading The Hobbit early last September, soon after we killed the TV. I generally read about 10 to 15 pages a day, although I don’t always read every day. Reading The Hobbit, we followed Bilbo all the way there and back again. We all really enjoyed his adventure.
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I have noticed a big difference between reading aloud and watching a movie. In a movie, the camera describes the scene that surrounds the action and/or the dialogue. The surroundings don’t have to be put into words. We see it all at once. In a book, however, a lot of time has to be spent describing the surroundings, In addition, a book has to describe each and every character in some detail; something we are immediately shown by the camera.

It generally takes me up to a week or so of reading almost every night to cover what the motion picture camera can show in just a few minutes.
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After finishing The Hobbit, I wondered briefly what I would read to the boys next. It soon became obvious – The Lord of the Rings of course. In general, I wanted the boys to learn to use their own imagination to form the images that went along with the words of a story. More importantly, I wanted them to see how ordinary people, like themselves, could rise to a challenge, could persevere throughout the adventure and could even come out of it successfully. Most importantly, with respect to The Lord of the Rings, I wanted them to live through one of the greatest stories ever written.

Right now, reading The Fellowship of the Ring and adventuring along in our imaginations with our Hobbit friends, we have just left the Inn of the Prancing Pony. The black riders have attacked in the night. But thanks to Strider, who appeared just in time to help us, we have survived.

Last night we climbed to the top of Weathertop with them. We saw that Gandalf had been there, just three days before. We also saw, below us on the road, the enemy, five of the black riders. Tonight, we will see what will happen on Weathertop.

I know already of course. I’ve read these books a half dozen times to myself, and three times aloud. I read them aloud to Jonathan, Ariana, and Aspen. I may have to read them again for Zane. At three, almost four years, he enjoys the reading and the energy we all generate, but he probably doesn’t understand all that is going on. Callahan and Jake do though.
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One of the best things that is happening as we follow the Hobbits on their adventure is all the side trips that we take, all the discussions we get into – in the middle of a sentence even. We are constantly going off on very interesting and informative discussions, ranging from why do Elves live so long, almost forever it seems, to who are the rangers and what it must be like to be that close and knowledgeable with the land.

In the book, we are constantly being reminded of the early days of Middle Earth, of all that happened before this story. Maybe we’ll have to read The Silmarillion next. A great deal of the ancient history that is being brought up in the story so far is leading up to the realization that Strider is Aragorn the King.

And of course, there is the perennial question – who is Tom Bombadil? He’s the master and he has his boundaries, but outside of that, who is he? Who is he in the larger story? He doesn’t figure again in either of the other two books of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don’t remember reading about him in The Silmarillion either.