Beric The Briton: A Review (Heirloom Audio Productionsdoes it again!)

If you've been reading my blog for very long, you will have likely run across reviews for
a variety of Heirloom Audio Productions  G.A Henty dramatizations: The Dragon and the Raven, With Lee in Virginia, In Freedom's Cause, in fact, the only one in the series that I have not reviewed is Under Drake's Flag. My teen son has greatly enjoyed listening to these audio dramas (He prefers that to reading them, in part because he loves listening to the fantastic voices of the actors), so he was greatly pleased that we were recently sent Beric The Briton for review.

We were all impressed with the cast line-up for this particular drama, as it includes the following greats:
Brian Blessed (Star Wars, Tarzan, King Lear)
Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity, Braveheart)
Tom Baker (Dr. Who)
Honeysuckle Weeks (Foyle's War)
Cathy Sara (Downton Abbey)
John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones)

Nothing makes a good story come alive so well as amazing actors and voices!
After listening to some of this audio, my son mentioned that he remembered placing specific Minecraft tiles while listening to specific conversations. I love that sort of memory recall, just another benefit to listening to audio presentations. :)

I'm not going to go majorly into the storyline, other than to say that contrary to what the title might suggest, it is mostly set in Rome during the time of Nero. What I will say is that once again, Heirloom Audio Productions has presented an A+ Class production, with quality actors, musicians and recording. Beric the Briton harks back to the times of the radio dramas of yesteryear. Days when children and parents used their imagination to fill in the visuals for what they were listening to.

I also want to briefly mention the bonus study guide. While the study guides tend not to be geared for high school students, they is some additional historical context information included as well as some discussion questions that can be of benefit for the entire family.

I also want to mention the "Family 4-pack" purchase option. This is a great idea for a gift, AND one of the other bonus items included in this pack is a pdf e-book of Beric the Briton, delightfully formatted by Heirloom Audio Productions. This should give you an idea of what it looks like ~ nice, no?

If you spend a lot of time in the car, listening to Heirloom Audio Productions' audio dramas can be a great family bonding experience. It is also a good fit for those who are auditory learners, and an exercise in using imagination for everyone!

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Heirloom Audio Productions  
• Product: Beric The Briton
• Ages: Elementary-Adult (As with all Henty titles, I err on the side of saying 9-11+)
• Price: Multiple options include
• $19.97 MP3 Download  Bonuses- 50 page Study Guide, Printable Poster
• $29.97 Single Pack DVD Bonuses above + Downloadable MP3 Soundtrack AND instant access MP3 download
• $99.97 Family Four Pack Bonuses above + Unlimited access to The Live Adventure e-newsletter, Beautifully formatted original Henty Beric the Britan ebook, Printable Promo poster, access Behind the Scenes Documentary

You can visit a variety of Heirloom Audio Productions Social Media Pages:
Beric the Briton FaceBook Page
The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series FaceBook Page
Heirloom Audio Productions Facebook Page, Twitter, Google+, Instagram


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

Blessings~

Boy's Night Out, Baseball, and Boston Strong!

Seats with a View (And more importantly with a 5yo, clean bathrooms nearby!)

The boys had a fun night out courtesy of, and with, a friend who was given some awesome tickets to the Red Sox game tonight~  box seats behind home plate!

Not quite sure why these are distorting...
but anyway, this is Littlest's FIRST Pro Baseball and first Red Sox game~ think he's enjoying himself and the foot-long hotdog that he had??? :)

Dad and the Boys

The Benefactor and Middlest

Most amazing surprise of the night~ look who was sitting right behind the boys.... (you can see him in that last photo)~  Boston Strong ~ Jeff Bauman Apparently tonight was the first time that Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arrendondo were able to make it to the park the same night, and they threw out the first pitch, and spent the rest of the game right above my crowd.  A very cool night to be there!

When Middlest realized that the camera's were focusing on the row behind them (His hat made it on the screen...) :) he turned around and gave Jeff Bauman a thumbs up~ he grinned and gave him a thumbs up right back!

Before leaving FOR the game, littlest was wondering if they could get a ballplayer's autograph~ I told him probably not~ this is a little different from the minor league games we've been to~ HOWEVER, given the location of their seats, Middlest got a couple of autographs from some REAL heroes!

Jeff Bauman Boston Strong

Carlos Arrendondo

All in all, even with a win for Philly instead of Boston, tonight was a good night out for more than just MY boys!

Blessings~

The Sugar Creek Gang (Adventurous Audio Books)

Back when my father was a youngster, family entertainment included gathering around the radio to hear dramatized versions of all kinds of stories (With mysteries tending to be the favored genre, from what I've heard). Today the radio tends to be all music or all news/talk (with only the occasional children's/ family programming). Don't these children look sweet? Love their rapt attention!

Today we can approximate the general atmosphere by taking advantage of "Radio Dramatizations" like in "the good old days" by gathering around the cd player or computer (Or listening in the car, but I don't advise that unless you're on a long trip~ stopping mid-track or mid-story might cause a  ruckus) ! :) I recently received a series of these dramatized stories on CD.

Beloved Books has been involved with the manufacture and distribution of Moody Press' Sugar Creek Gang series in audio format since 1998. The TOS Review Crew received Volume 1 of the Sugar Creek Gang Audio books on CD.

Each disc contains 2 stories, and they are each about 2 hours long. The entire collection comprises 6 volumes, 36 stories, and over 70 hours of old-time Christian radio "Adventure Time" listening.

The stories on Volume 1:
The Swamp Robber (Click on the link to be taken to a download of this 1st, complete story for free)
The Killer Bear
The Winter Rescue
The Lost Campers
Chicago Adventure
The Secret Hideout

Our thoughts~
We listened to the first story together (mom, 5 yr old boy, 12 yr old boy, 15 yr old girl), and there were a variety of opinions and reactions.

Eldest~ (Con/Pro?) Felt that the story was a little too intense and perhaps not appropriate for her littlest brother to be listening to. She was concerned about the presentation of the reality of late 30's early 40's drunkenness (very straightforward "This is the way it is" with very little softening. No sheltering in these stories).  This could be considered a positive or a negative, depending on your viewpoint, so worth mentioning.

Middlest~ (Pro!) LOVED the stories~ wanted to listen to them constantly, and was prompted to ask for some good literature that would be similar in scope to read (with themes of fishing, and  adventure, and general boy clubbishness. I'll take suggestions in the comments!) He was highly engaged in the story! He said it put him in mind of stories that would go well with "The American Boy's Handy Book" :)

Youngest~ (Mostly Pro) well... he liked listening, but was a little nervous at times (he's less sensitive than my other two at that age, so that's helpful.... as the youngest). 

Mom~ (Pro)  pleased to find something that sparks Middlest's interest that is wholesome (With the exception of the characters who are in obvious need of redemption), adventurous, and not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. The need for the Gospel, and a respect for the Word of God, redemption and obedience are themes that run throughout the stories more than once. Appreciated the nature themes and poetry woven throughout. LOVE the exercise in using imaginations to picture the kids and the setting. *I* definitely had pictures in my head because of the descriptive language used throughout the stories!

Mom~ (Con) I have also tended NOT to address certain issues (like swearing, and others' drunkeness etc...) unless necessary, so I do tend to agree with Eldest, and might raise my recommendation for suggested age range to  8-12 (Although this could vary greatly, depending on the child), as the way some things are presented may not be quite as "Gentle" as I might want for a younger listener.

Some generic observations(neither pro nor con)~
The descriptions of church and services will be foreign to many children who live in today's urban areas and/or attend more modern "Seeker" churches~ But children growing up in the "heartland" and/or attending more conservative and/or dare I say it old-fashioned churches will be more likely to relate. Some of the phraseology is definitely more old-fashioned.

These will be used in our house mostly for Middlest's listening pleasure, with occasional "Family gathered around the Computer/CD Player" evening. They will also be a "Make sure they're packed" item for any cross-country trips we take in the next 7 or 8 years! :)

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Beloved Books
• Product: Sugar Creek Gang Vol 1 (CD's) (six stories, 12 CD's)
• Ages: Recommended ages 6-12
• Price: $54.95 

Readers of my blog can use the coupon ACORNS-20 to receive 20% off their entire order! Enjoy! 

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 and/or gift budget.:) (Think Christmas?)

Blessings~

Disclaimer: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Review Crew Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Triple Dog Dare~ A Year of Dynamic Devotions for Boys

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Jeremy Jones

and the book:

Triple Dog Dare Devotional

David C. Cook (October 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeremy V. Jones is an award-winning journalist who has served as senior associate editor of Breakaway magazine. He has authored several books, including Toward the Goal: The Kaka Story and The Keeper: The Tim Hoard Story. He also writes for magazines such as Clubhouse and Christianity Today. He resides with his wife and two children in Colorado.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Boys want action. They don’t want to sit around and talk—that’s for grown-ups and girls. They engage life and relationships by doing something: skateboarding, playing games or re-creating favorite movie scenes. So why should faith be any different? That’s why Jeremy V. Jones created Triple Dog Dare: One Year of Dynamic Devotions for Boys—to provide the action boys need in order to grow their faith.

The Bible is full of action. Remember how David slew Goliath, Daniel faced those lions, Paul survived a shipwreck and Jesus stood up for a woman about to be killed? God made boys to take His truth and do something with it, to man up and change the world. These action-packed devotions for boys ages 9 to 12 are filled with godly truth and bold spiritual challenges that transform time with God into the adventure of the day.

Triple Dog Dare connects God’s Word to boys’ hearts and hands with real-life scenarios and activities. Each day is filled with short Scriptures, concise biblical truth and a daily dare, all challenging them to put their faith into practice. Scripture readings from every book of the Bible open up the action-packed Word of God. Whether it’s drawing comic strips of biblical battles, dreaming up a life list of goals, making snack packs for the homeless or producing Bible-based movies, boys will go on daily dynamic experiences with God, taking faith off the page and setting it into motion. Themes cover the daily realities of pre-teen males, including bullying, peer pressure, girls, sibling rivalry, honesty and more.

These exciting devotions will inspire boys’ hearts toward godly characteristics such as integrity, generosity and kindness. Parents will appreciate watching Christ-like traits emerge as each dare is undertaken. It is a manual that will deepen boys’ friendships with Jesus as they look forward to spending time with Him every day. So if you know a boy who is up for the challenge, triple dog dare him!




Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook (October 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0781404576
ISBN-13: 978-0781404570

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER (Click on images to enlarge):

I'm pretty pleased with this devotional for boys! It makes focusing on a little bite of scripture each day easy and relevant. There are usually only a few verses to read, and then a "devotion" that goes along. The side bars contain "Triple Dog Dares" to help your boy apply the scripture he read to HIS life!

We also like that it is split into weekdays, and just ONE entry for the weekend. Since our weekends tend to be church/scripture focused, this makes a lot of sense.

This would make a very nice gift for Christmas! :)

Blessings~

 







Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the  Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.