Review of Heirloom Audio Productions

I have reviewed (and loved) Heirloom Audio Productions before, so it was with great interest that I received Beric the Briton for review! My family absolutely loves audio dramas of any kind, and no one does audio dramas like Heirloom Audio Productions! Beric the Briton is the full-cast audio presentation of the novel by G.A. Henty. It is presented by a cast of professional actors and it immerses you in the time period. In fact, Heirloom audio transcends audio drama all together. It bills itself as "active listening audio adventure," using sound effects designed to draw the listener even deeper into the story. Beric the Briton tells the story of Beric and Boduoc during the Roman invasion of Britannia. This is one of our favorite times of history to study, so my kids were so happy to be able to get this story to listen to! Beric and Boduoc experience enough adventure for several lifetimes in this story as they become gladiators for the Emperor Nero (whoever thought that giving a 16 year-old boy control of the most powerful empire in the world was a good idea?)! Heirloom Audio Productions also gave us all of the bonuses available to those who purchase the premium edition of Beric the Briton. The most appreciated of these features for us was the MP3 version of the CD. Because my computer doesn't have a CD drive, I love being able to download the story to my computer so we can listen everywhere - we can use the CDs in the car, but we can listen to the MP3s at home! Here, my 11 year-old twins listen to the story while Mary-Catherine is knitting:

As I said, though, Heirloom Audio included many other bonuses, including the amazing study guide that supports the novel. Heirloom Audio's study guides are works of art. At 50 pages long, it includes the following elements:

• Biographies of the 3 principal historical figures
• Listening Well
• Thinking Further
• Defining Words (each of these preceding three for each section)
• Historical Background
• 3 Bible Studies
• ...even more!

And it's all done so beautifully. Here's just a tiny sample:

In addition to the MP3 and the study guide, the bonuses include the following:

• The GA Henty eBook of Beric the Briton
• The Official MP3 Soundtrack
• Printable Cast and Inspirational Verse Posters
• Behind the Scenes Cast Video
• Behind the Adventure Letter Website and E-Newsletter

Visit the website to see more about each of these great bonuses and to see the different purchase configurations available.

Why Heirloom Audio Productions?

There are many "audio options" out there today - podcasts, audiobooks, pubic domain readings of things, etc. What sets Heirloom Audio Productions apart? Well, if you've ever gone to the movie theater and relaxed into the comfortable seats and closed your eyes and just listened -- that's what Heirloom Audio Productions' Beric the Briton is like. A great audio book is just like hearing someone read you the story. A podcast is, at best, someone telling you about something. Beric the Briton (and all of Heirloom Audio Productions' amazing stories that I have heard) is like listening to a movie in the best theater. You are there. You are part of the story. Fortunately, when you go to Beric the Briton, you'll be able to hear a small sample of what I'm talking about. You can also click the banner below to read other Crew reviews!

Review of Heirloom Audio Productions' In the Reign of Terror

Because we have reviewed Heirloom Audio Productions before, I was happy to receive In the Reign of Terror for review. This CD is beautifully presented in a fold-out case on two discs. The total run time is 2 1/2 hours of full-cast audio, and the cast in this production (as with all Heirloom Audio Productions' offerings) is not to be believed. Stars like Brian Blessed, John Rhys-Davies, Jack Farthing, and Cathy Sara make In the Reign of Terror not only come to life - they make it leap full-force into your car or living room. This is not a passive listening experience! If you're not yet convinced that this is not a passive listening experience, I encourage you to watch the trailer. It will give you a small taste of the treat your ears are in for.
Heirloom Audio Productions also has a beautiful study guide that has questions, activities, and much more. Designed to help parents make In the Reign of Terror more meaningful to their younger children (the CD is intended for children as young as 6), the study guide has activities that can be enjoyed by multiple ages. The study guide begins with some biographies of important people, including Henty himself (the author of the book), Robespierre, and Marie Antoinette. For each track of the CD, the study guide has "Listening Well" and "Thinking Further" questions, along with "Defining Words." Although not available for every track, there are also "Expand Your Learning" inserts, which have great historical background information, turning this great audio production into a unit study! For example, one of the segments was a recipe for No-Knead French Bread, and there's another one for Brioche- see, I'm not kidding about turning this into a unit study!

The study guide also includes a list of further resources, three Bible studies, and historical background on The Reign of Terror. There is a lot of material there!

As we have with previous Heirloom Audio Productions reviews, we received some amazing bonuses with this review, including:

• In the Reign of Terror Adventure Playlist (the ability to listen to the audio adventure in playlist format
• The original eBook of GA Henty's In the Reign of Terror
• Official Soundtrack
• Printable Cast Poster
• Study Guide
• Inspirational Verse Poster ("What man intends for evil, God intends for good")
• Desktop Wallpaper Download
• Official Script Download - by far the *coolest* bonus ever! It is so fun to listen to the story and follow along on the script. Plus, like everything that Heirloom Audio does, the script is simply gorgeous.

My kids love listening to these Heirloom Audio Productions performances. They are absolutely top quality and the stories are riveting. In the Reign of Terror is no exception. The story follows Harry Sandwith, a 16 year-old English boy who goes to live with the Marquis de St. Caux in France in 1790. While he's living there, the French Revolution begins to progress in earnest. Obviously, the Marquis is nobility and therefore is loyal to King Louis XVI. I don't want to give away any key plot points, but all the ingredients are present for a very emotionally intense and exciting book, and the amazing actors at Heirloom Audio Productions 100% bring it to life in a way that just reading it can't.

Heirloom Audio also has something new! Check it out - Live the Adventure Club!

We always love everything that Heirloom Audio Productions puts out, but you don't have to take our word for it. To see what other Crew members thought, click the banner below!

Review of Heirloom Audio Productions' The Cat of Bubastes

Heirloom Audio Productions puts out the best audio theater for homeschoolers, so I was really excited to be able to review The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty! All Michael (11) had to see was that Sylvester McCoy (the 7th Doctor) was part of the cast to know that he wanted to listen to this one! Given that The Cat of Bubastes was one of the first books I read when we began homeschooling, I, too, was anxious to hear the audio production (I say production, because you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that this is an audio book. It's not. This is a full-on immersive audio experience. You really have to try it to believe it. Fortunately, clicking on the link above will give you a small sample!).

Sylvester McCoy is not the only amazing actor in this star-studded cast. I never cease to be amazed by the talent Heirloom Audio accumulates for its productions. These are not your run-of-the-mill voice actors: these are bona fide movie stars. You will begin listening to The Cat of Bubastes, and you won't stop until it's over around two hours later.

In addition to the wonderful two-disc audio drama, Heirloom Audio Productions also sent us so many awesome bonuses! Michael was happiest with the MP3 downloads (including the soundtrack!), because that meant he could have The Cat of Bubastes on his phone to listen to anytime, anywhere. We also received the most beautiful pdf copy of the book itself. This copy is certainly more beautiful than the one I first read ten years ago! Here's a peek:

We also received unlimited access to the "Live the Adventure" Letter E-Newsletter, which uses news, articles, and lessons to bring Christian history to life. 

A beautiful poster with 1 Chronicles 17:20 was also provided, which was truly providential, given that we are reading through 1 Chronicles right now! A second poster comes in the form of a printable cast poster (part of which I snipped above). I know that Michael would love to have this one on his wall. 

The download that would probably be most useful for many families (apart from the MP3s) is the comprehensive study guide. For each track of the disc, there are three sections on the study guide: Listening Well, Thinking Further, and Defining Words. There is also frequently a section called "Expand Your Learning" that provides greater background information about something in the story, such as Egyptian language, flora, or fauna. Again, like with book pdf, the study guide itself is gorgeous:

The final bonus sent to us was a "Behind the Scenes" video on the making of the audio drama. I love things like this, and my kids really enjoyed seeing all that goes into the making of a production like this one. It really is unbelievable. It takes a small army to make the story come to life. It is so worth it, though. I can confidently say that Michael, especially (the child who is most like me - among my younger three - in his love of audio productions of all kinds), far prefers productions like this to movies. He loves everything that comes from Heirloom Audio Productions. Like me, he can't wait to see what they come out with next!
If for any reason Ancient Egypt isn't your thing, I strongly encourage you to check out their full catalog. I can guarantee they will have something you will love. You don't want to miss out on their offerings! Don't take my word for it, though. Click the banner below to see what my Crew mates have to say!

Review of Heirloom Audio Productions' Captain Bayley's Heir

Heirloom Audio Productions always has wonderful stories, so we were super excited to receive Captain Bayley's Heir for review. 
Captain Bayley's Heir is another wonderful story from G.A. Henty. This time, the primary setting/time period is the California Gold Rush (one of my absolute favorite times in history), but there are so many other locations in the story! The action actually begins in England where main character, 18 year-old Frank Norris (hey - maybe we're cousins - that's my maiden name!), is accused of theft. Attempting to clear his name, he makes his way to America, ending up in New Orleans, and then making his way to California (after all, where else would a young man go in the middle of the nineteenth century on this side of the pond?). There are so many aspects of history that show up in the story all along Frank's journey. It's the best part of a G.A. Henty novel. You'd expect Indians, and there are Indians. You'd expect steamboats (why else would Frank show up in New Orleans?), and there are steamboats. There would have to be wagon trains, right? Of course there are wagon trains. Stagecoaches? Obviously. There is also everything you'd want to know about living in a mining town. Best of all, there's a surprise twist at the end! I wasn't expecting that! And because it's G.A. Henty, there are continual reminders that God's love and God's grace abound in everyday life.
Now, a G.A. Henty novel is always a treat, but a G.A. Henty full-cast audio production from Heirloom Audio Productions is nothing short of a delight! Brian Blessed is, as always, Henty himself (Mr. George), lending a continuity to all of the productions. Other cast members are familiar from previous productions. 

While the voice actors are amazing, the sound effects are what really set Heirloom Audio apart (after all, for great voice actors, there are audio books, right?). Nothing else sounds like Heirloom Audio. You are literally right there in the story. As soon as Mary-Catherine (12) turned on my old Sony Discman, she was mesmerized. "The fire! You can hear it crackling!" (N.B., this is not our first Heirloom CD, but it's the first one any of my kids has ever listened to with headphones; we usually listen in the car. Headphones make a great production practically unbelievable.)

While I wholeheartedly and unequivocally recommend any Heirloom Audio CD or mp3 download, I recommend their Live the Adventure Club even more. Through this club, you have access to so many extras to go along with your story! A little extra that I love is the ability to see the script of the story as it is playing in the background:

That's just the beginning, though! You can access the ebook of Captain Bayley's Heir (including beautiful full-color graphics), along with the exciting soundtrack that accompanies the story. There is, as always with Heirloom's G.A. Henty productions, a beautiful cast poster. There is also an inspirational hymn poster with Amazing Grace on it. One thing I really like this time is the desktop wall paper. Something about the cover art for this CD really appeals to me! I think it's just beautiful. The meat of the "extras" that you can access through the Live the Adventure Club, though, is the amazing Study Guide. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Heirloom's Study Guides are works of art in and of themselves (oh, and the content is on point).

The 36-page study guide is available either to download or to read online. It is dedicated thusly:

If I could, I would insert a bunch of heart emojis!

I love how the study guide introduction explains its divisions - about four to eight minutes of audio per section. That makes it so easy to predict how and when to use it. Like previous study guides from this company that we have used, the "chapters" of this one are divided into three sections each: Listening Well (basic recall), Thinking Further (what I call comprehension questions, which require more in-depth thinking, including drawing conclusions, analyzing motives, and intentions, etc.), and Defining Words (dictionary lookup). The study guide also has "Expand Your Learning" sections, which give extra "inside information" about the times. 

See what I mean when I say the study guide is a work of art?

The study guide concludes with Further Resources, a book list, with topical books related to all things covered in this story. It includes one of my favorites - "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew." Finally, Heirloom ends with a feature included in all of its study guides - Bible Studies. Each is about a page long on a single topic. The topics in this study guide are God's Grace, Honoring Your Parents, and Becoming a Christian.

Our family will continue to enjoy Heirloom Audio Productions' products over and over. I think Captain Bayley's Heir may well be one of my favorites. I would love for you to check it out! Also, be sure to read 99 other reviews by clicking the banner below!

Review of Heirloom Audio Productions' In Freedom's Cause

If you read my blog at all, you know that I am seriously addicted to all things spoken audio: audiobooks, podcasts, old time radio shows - you name it: if it is spoken audio, I'm all over it. Imagine my delight, then, when two of my favorite spoken audio genres (audiobook and radio drama) married in Heirloom Audio Productions' In Freedom's Cause Single Package production of G.A. Henty's classic book.
You have probably heard of G.A. Henty's books, even if you don't quite realize it. Show me one homeschool curriculum that *doesn't* have The Cat of Babastes on (in) it, and I'll point out to you that the curriculum is likely not classical, Charlotte Mason, relating to Egypt (obviously), or very good (sorry - was that judgmental?). Simply put, G.A. Henty tells a great story! His books are historically accurate (N.B., as a Catholic, I have problems with some of his books as they relate to interpretations of the Reformation, but the vast majority of his books, well, don't), easy to read (while presenting kids with a great vocabulary), and always exciting. Know what's even more exciting, though? Hearing the books brought to life with a full-cast audio!
Before getting into how awesome this product is, let me first tell you everything you get in this unique package (all of which is included in the $29.97 + s/h price)!   1. The 2-CD set of the audio drama + instant access MP3 download
2. The complete eStudy Guide and Discussion Starter (more on this in a minute)
3. A printable copy of The Prayer of William Wallace (that would be the 23rd Psalm in the Latin Vulgate. If you have not read this psalm in anything other than the KJV, you might be surprised at how different and majestic it is when translated faithfully from the Latin. I love that this printable poster is included in the download package. But, then, as a Catholic and as a lover of Latin, any time I see the Vulgate referenced I get a thrill of pleasure.).
4. The MP3 download of the soundtrack to the audio. The music for the audio drama was composed by the Emmy-winning composer John Campbell, who also composed the score for The Chronicles of Narnia! Having the soundtrack is a huge value-add for the set!
My review continues below, but first, watch the trailer - I dare you not to buy this audio drama after watching it! I was blessed enough to receive it for review, but watching the trailer makes me want to go and buy it! I am telling you - this is such an exciting way to share books with children! Your kids are going to love it. Just listening to the trailer as I write the review, my kids are asking when we can listen to it again.
 
There are as many different ways to enjoy In Freedom's Cause as there are homeschool (and all) families. Obviously, you can just listen to and love it. It's a great story. You can also incorporate it into your study of Scotland, England, this particular time in history, or William Wallace. If you want to use it in a more directed way, the included study guide is a great way to do so. 
Structured like many study guides, each section of the guide covers between 4-10 minutes of audio and includes three sections: Listening Well, Thinking Further, and Defining Words. There are 37 such sections altogether. The study guide also includes a brief section on the history of Scotland in order to bring parents up to speed, just in case you may not know what brought William Wallace to his present views. Finally, it concludes with three brief Bible studies. 

The study guide is *gorgeous*. I include one small screenshot here so that you can see what I am talking about. Like all other things associated with this product, the study guide is a work of art. It looks like it is printed on aged paper, and it includes maps and sumptuous artwork. My kids and I loved looking through it the second we got it. The study guide demands that you delve into it, unlike so many study guides that repel students (simply by virtue of the fact that they look like so much work). The only downside to the gorgeous study guide is that it is just too much color to print. Still, one doesn't have to print it to use it. It is just as easy to write the answers to the questions on your own paper, or to answer them orally.

All four of my kids loved In Freedom's Cause as much as I did. First of all, it is very hard to resist a Scottish accent, and the accents in this drama are completely authentic (didn't you watch the trailer!?). Second, the music is awesome. It sweeps you away. The production value of the CD is so amazing that if you close your eyes, you would be convinced that there is a movie on a screen in front of you...but then you open your eyes and you're glad there's not, because what your own imagination can conjure is likely much better!
The first time we listened to the CD, we did so piecemeal in the car. It wasn't ideal, and it wasn't the kids preference. That didn't diminish their love for the story, though. In a couple of weeks we have a road trip, however, and they are really looking forward to being able to listen again straight through. So am I!
A Note to Catholic Families
One thing that often seems to get overlooked about William Wallace is his Catholicism. Yes, Henty talks about Wallace as a Christian, but any Christian in 13th/14th century Scotland (or anywhere!) was a Catholic. Wallace was educated by Augustinians and Benedictines and spoke Latin, the language of the Church. Events in his life caused him to fall away from his faith for a time, but he died reciting the penitential psalms (the study guide *does* point this out in its introduction about Wallace - something I really appreciated!) - something we as Catholics still do when we go to Confession. There are many different ways to expand your study of William Wallace and his Catholic faith by using this book and study as a jumping off point. For example, there is a movement among some Scottish Catholics to have William Wallace canonized. This would be a great opportunity to discuss with your children the canonization process - what is required and whether Wallace's life meets those qualifications. Also, because the package includes the 23rd psalm in the Vulgate translation, it's a great opportunity to discuss different translations of the Bible, including the differences between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles (vis-a-vis what Protestants typically refer to as the Apocrypha). 
If you're already in love with In Freedom's Cause, you'll welcome the news that Heirloom Productions is working on two new productions! The first one, With Lee in Virginia, is coming around Memorial Day!

To find In Freedom's Cause on social media, be sure to check out all of the following places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InFreedomsCause
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InFreedomsCause
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112701427096792421838/112701427096792421838/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jointhecause