Tonight's kid quotes

[rhu]

Alissa lost a tooth at bedtime. She said: "Abba, after havdalla, will you send the Tooth Fairy an email so she knows my tooth is in my tooth box under my pillow? Hey, how will she get under my pillow?"

Me: "She's a very very small fairy."

Alissa: "No, she's not. She's a person. She's Josh and Dinah's mother."

---

We've been reading Lord of the Rings to the kids as a bedtime story for the last few weeks. Tonight we got to the bridge out of Moriah. I expect them to be upset, but Tani said with certainty, "Gandalf isn't dead. We didn't see him actually die, and he's too important a character to be killed off in the first book. We're just supposed to think he's dead." Kids these days are just too media-savvy.

Comments

[uncanny-npl.livejournal.com]

You've got some sharp kids there!

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Wow. We had The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as bedtime stories, and I distinctly remember thinking that Bilbo was dead at the end of the chapter Riddles in the Dark: he's running away from Gollum, fingering the ring in his pocket, and he bumps his head on something and Tolkien's wording is "he knew no more." So for one day when I was about seven, I thought Bilbo was dead and it didn't occur to me that there would be no point telling the story if the hero died halfway through the book.

[autotruezone.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I had read The Hobbit to Number One Daughter as a bedtime story when she was around four or five. She begged me to read LOTR, but I hesitated, seeing as how it's a much darker and scarier story. Finally I gave in when she was around seven or eight, but she chickened out and made me stop when the hobbits were being chased by the dark riders, still in the Shire. She's thirteen now, and still hasn't read it, though she does read lots of other fantasy (including all the Harry Potter Books).

Number One Son is in the middle of reading it on his own now, at age 10. Number Two Son (age 7) has been asking about it, but after my experience with Number One Daughter, I've been hesitating. But maybe after reading about your experience with it, and with that of a mutual friend, I should just go ahead.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

The only reason I can date when Dad read us The Hobbit is that I know he started reading us FotR when I was eight (my brother would have been about seven, maybe still six, at the time). But then, our family was Tolkien-centric, since my parents met in a Tolkien fan group. I didn't remember how bleak RotK is, so maybe I slept through that part. In any case, maybe it's sexist to believe this, but I think boys are better equipped to deal with battle and death scenes than girls are at the same age. I also think that kids tend to have a built-in ability to drown out images that are too disturbing for them to handle.

I was older than eight when Dad tried to read us Avi's Something Upstairs and I made him stop when he got to the blood-stained closet floor in the first chapter.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Wow, the tooth fairy has gotten media-savvy!

And they've probably seen a lot of characters come back from the dead, already...

[toonhead-npl.livejournal.com]

Yikes I first misread this as "Lord of the FLIES." (!) I was thinking, 'Dang, his kids are even more mature than I thought."

[rymrytr.livejournal.com]

That's the curse of TV. Who really thought the Lizard Captain was going to kill Captain Krik? Who believed that Ben Cartwright was going to actually be hanged for Murder? Predictable endings drove me from TV (that and the fact that I learned to read, before TV was invented). :O)

As for kids books, yes, it is good that Children can read and comprehend advanced books, but let us not forget that they are, inside, still Children. Give them (as I'm sure you do) other choices.

The only book I've ever read, that did not have even the slightest relationship to what I thought the ending would be, is Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Just where I thought it would end, there was an additional Chapter. The first half of the book is a slow read, but the rest is worth the effort! A girl is convinced that her Mother is living in Idaho and wants to go there.

Other good books for children:

A Single Shard Linda Sue Park TreeEar, an Orphan in 12 Century Korea, sneaks peeks at a Pottery Maker, causes damage and must "pay". This in an era when there was no Social Support for Orphans, Women, the Poor or Disabled. Another excellent, slightly predictable, yet surprising ending.

The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen

(I won't say this too loud, but each teaches concepts that we all, child or not, need to understand, about how to treat others...)

If you don't read Children or Young Adult Books, you are missing out.

I used to say that I listened to these books so that I could get ideas on what books are being published... which is still somewhat true, but I also enjoy them, especially when the "reader" does an excellent job of narration.

Tomorrow, I'm transferring a small book called: Shoes Are For Birds.
A Parrot overhears some kind say "These shoes are for the Birds" and the Parrot passes this info along :o)