NORTH CREEK, BOTHELL, WA :: As we wait for the next illustrated volume of Harry Potter, I decided to take the kids to Middle Earth for our next book-to-movie experience.
At first, it was a challenge to keep their attention through the chaos of "An Unexpected Party," but once Bilbo and the Company of Thorin Oakenshield hit the road with their ponies, the kids were hooked. What child can resist tales of adventure involving a hobbit, a wizard, dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, wargs, and giant eagles? I was having so much fun reading to them, despite singing clumsily through the songs and torturing my throat to do my best Gollum!
Chapters 1-6 of The Hobbit align very well with the first movie. The kids were attentive through the entire three hours of the extended edition (Miranda with their stuffed dragon), and they even finished the line yelled by Thorin and Gandalf, "Out of the frying pan, and into the fire!" So fun! Looking forward to sharing the rest of the book and the movies!
I took a class in high school called “Novel as Film” We read and watched (the 1974 version) of The Great Gatsby. After that, I always liked to read the novel and then see the film. Sometimes, the film can surprise and do as well or better than the book! What a great tradition you’ve got going there.