Heirloom Audio Productions~ With Lee in Virginia

Ready to hear about another high quality telling of a G.A. Henty book by Heirloom Audio Productions? Their latest production (And my latest review) is With Lee in Virginia, with a look at the Civil War from the viewpoint of a young Southern boy/man.

You may recall my review of In Freedom's Cause this winter. With Lee in Virginia follows the high standard of Heirloom Audio Productions' previous works, with high quality acting, music and overall production.

This particular story tells the tale of Vincent Wingfield, heir to a plantation in Richmond, Virginia. Vincent is a compassionate young man of 15, who cares about those who work for him, and hates to see others mistreated. He truly seems to offer an example of one who sees the right thing to do, and then does it ~ a quality that is more rare today than one might wish. Even when things don't go according to the plan or desires of his heart, Vincent sees and believes the wise counsel of others.

This is a high quality recording, with award winning actors voicing many of the characters. One of my favorite behind the scenes bits is the fact that Kirk Cameron and his son James both act in this drama. It is always interesting to me when well known Christians, celebrities, and homeschoolers are involved in things like this. :)


My middlest son enjoyed the story (Although he *did* prefer the Scottish Accents of In Freedom's Cause), and the look into the Southern side of the Civil War. It is always good to see and understand that there are two sides to every story, and that there often are righteous people on opposite sides of most any discussion.

Because it *is* Summer-time, we did not use the study guide/discussion starter, but I can assure you that it is of the same high quality of the study for In Freedom's Cause. There are character profiles, questions to determine comprehension (Listening Well), promote discussion (Thinking Further), and general vocabulary knowledge (Defining Words).  There are maps, recipes, photographs and illustrations to enhance your child's listening time.

Audio Productions are a step above books, in that they engage your sense of hearing.
This can be both a pro or a con, depending on your child and their temperament, as stories accompanied by audio are more easily retained when accompanied by audio/visual...

Audio books are phenomenal tools for those who don't enjoy reading but like the stories, they can be entertaining to listen to, and require the use of the imagination to provide the visual to go along with the audio. This is a great exercise in creativity, and something which recent generations have lost with the proliferation of highly graphic media. It harkens back to a simpler time as well, when families would gather around the radio together to hear weekly broadcasts.

Really, the only con I find in these productions would hold true for anything beyond a book. There are those who prefer to read their stories so that they can skim over more emotional or volatile passages. Once audio is added it brings the story to another dimension which makes it more immediate and memorable and visual is yet another step beyond that. When *I* read historical information and/or novels, I often prefer to skim over some portions as they tend to make my blood pressure drop (empathy?). I tend to find the audible portions in With Lee in Virginia that portray the treatment of some slaves, battle, etc... to be for a more mature audience than the recommended age of 6.

If Audio books, particularly of the adventure bent, are your style, you might want to visit
Heirloom Audio Productions Social Media Pages to get more information:
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With Lee In Virginia:
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This is one of the most professional *shiny* audio productions I have heard yet. Kudos to Heirloom Audio Productions!

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Heirloom Audio Productions
• Product:With Lee in Virginia
• Ages: Recommended 6-adult (my recommendation is probably at least 10+ - adult, depending on the child)
• Price: 
• $29.97 + S&H (2 CD set, and MP3 download)
• $19.97 (MP3 download)
• $99.97 (4-pack of the 2 CD set)
• Each set comes with bonus materials, including the Study Guide and Discussion Starter. You can find the details on this purchase page.

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~