The Lord of the Rings – The Children's Literature Podcast

149 – The Voice of Rohan

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Howard Shore carefully brought the text of The Lord of the Rings to life in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, choosing instruments and melodies that the people of Middle-Earth could have created for themselves. No theme shows this better than the one that speaks for the people of Rohan, from the clever selection of a Hardanger Fiddle to the rhythmic elements that evoke the beloved horses of the Rohirrim.

Also in this episode, congratulations to Jonathan Emmett, Adam S. Smith, and Stieven Van der Poorten. Their book The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers is now an award winner!

Friend of the show Tom the Tale Teller will perform a ghost story on Halloween — go see him if you are near the Midlands of England!

Find out why co-host Chloë had to say sorry to her teacher, and hear what mini-host Phoebe thinks of her very first comic book.

148 – The Voice of The Shire

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Just two episodes to go before our 150th Episode celebration! This time you’ll hear:

– A tribute to James Earl Jones, who had a bigger impact on children’s literacy than you might realize!
– What we are reading now. Chloë is enjoying The Misadventures of Max Crumbly and T.Q. is cracking open a comic book for the first time in years with The Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Married with Children.
– How composer Howard Shore adapted the text of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, carefully choosing instruments and crafting a melody to create a musical voice for the Hobbits and The Shire in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.

There are videos for two show segments:

Activity: Explore Musical Storytelling

This activity could be done in a music class or a literature class. Have students select a piece of music composed for a film which they feel effectively interprets the plot or characters of a piece of literature. Students should research the instrumentation of the piece and form theories about why the composer selected certain instruments to do certain jobs in the song. Encourage students to consider as many elements as possible. Is the song accurate to the setting of the story? Does the rhythm match anything that is happening with the plot or characters? Are there any diagetic elements to the music? Have students share their findings with one another through essays, discussion, or presentations.

147 – Tolkien About Music

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This is the first episode in a series about how Howard Shore’s film score for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy drew directly on the text of the book, supporting the story at all times.

There’s also a bit of show business to attend to, including some great conversations I’ve been having with listeners, our upcoming 150th episode, and whether or not listeners prefer a regular release schedule on a certain day or a looser schedule that puts out episodes when they feel relevant.

There’s a video version of the section of the show about Tolkien that you can watch here:

In this episode, I reference some musical experiments that I did based on Tolkien’s lyrics. I carefully reading the text of The Hobbit and tried to come up with musical arrangements that matched the text as closely as possible. You can listen to these experiments and download free sheet music here:

childrensliteraturepodcast.com/music

146 – Snow Much Drama

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The drama around Snow White, the troubled remake of Disney’s 1937 masterpiece, is unfortunate because it really was unnecessary! Just a little bit of familiarity with the folktale published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 could have spared the filmmakers (and some outspoken actors) a lot of time and trouble. Also in this episode, you get your last chance to ask show hosts anything! We’ll be having a mailbag party for our 150th episode.

There is also a video version of my thoughts on the Snow White drama, which are included in this episode:

I also had the pleasant surprise of seeing the new trailer for War of the Rohirrim, an upcoming film based on the legend outlined in the appendix to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Here’s my reaction to that:

138 – Can Peter Jackson Recapture the Magic?

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Peter Jackson is getting the band back together to make movies about . . . finding Gollum?? For real? Will these films be any good? Will this be another case of a filmmaker trying and failing to recapture the magic? Find out what I think about the prospects for these new films. Check out the video version to witness a perfect reenactment of what happened when I went to see The Phantom Menace in 1999, complete with butterfly hair clips.

123 – Film Predictions for 2024

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This year three major films are coming out which are based on books written for children, and one more is coming out that is based on The Lord of the Rings, which many teenagers love. But are these adaptations going to be any good?In this episode, I take a look at the upcoming films Harold and the Purple Crayon, Paddington in Peru, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Will they be good? Can these stories be adapted well to the screen? What mistakes should the filmmakers avoid?

I offer my best guesses in answer to these questions, and I’ll be curious to see how much I get right.