The 10 year old and I continue to make our way through The Lord of the Rings and I am happy to report that she is thoroughly consumed with the story.  For my own part, I continue to relish the new perspective that reading aloud for the first time brings.

From the very first chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, the gel developed a habit of asking questions that were usually answered by Tolkien himself within the next few lines or so.  At first these queries used to exasperate me because they disrupted the flow of my performance.  Also because the gel’s sudden fixation on a given point meant that she would then stop paying attention to what came next, thereby requiring me to go back and repeat that as well.

Well, I’m happy to report that we have sorted this out.  Now when she asks a question to which I know the answer is coming up shortly, I simply ignore her and keep reading.  When I come to the answer, I raise and flatten my voice.  I also cock an eye at her.  She thinks this is very funny.

Of course, not all of her questions have to do with the immediate plot.  Last evening we finished up with Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli headed for Edoras to meet King Theoden.  All of a sudden, she asked, “Hey! Whatever happens to Fatty Bolger? Do we meet him again?” 

My stock reply to such questions is, “Patience, child. All will be revealed in good time.”

She now thinks that’s pretty funny, too.