A few more pictures from the grandsons’ recent visit. The boys love stories, whether someone else is reading to them or they’re reading themselves. The oldest, 8, is an accomplished reader, the 7-year-old does pretty well, though he lacks confidence in his ability, and the 5-year-old has some basic reading skills. The 3-year-old loves to look through books himself and ‘reads’ the pictures.

Their level of comprehension is sometimes astonishing. Bedtime stories for the older three have already covered The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (all three volumes), and the Silmarillion, among others. They can quote lines from all the books and they’re happy to tell about or even act out scenes from the books.