Heirloom Audio Productions was kind enough to send us a copy of their latest offering, The Dragon and the Raven to review. This is a dramatized, adapted audio book of a novel by G. A. Henty. David (age 10) absolutely loved this audio book! Since my boys share a room, this was enjoyed by my five (almost six) -year-old Daniel, as well. They listened to it over a couple of evenings as bedtime and then repeated it a few times. After they enjoyed it for several nights, I moved it to the car to enjoy on our errand day. We spend about an hour in the car in the morning and another hour in the afternoon It was almost enough to last the whole trip. Using audio books is one of my favorite ways to keep everyone happy and busily occupied during car time – so much better than video games or refereeing fights!
The two disk set lasts over two hours, and is not quiet, passive listening. It’s high adventure, complete with a dramatic musical score and musical interludes to punctuate the excitement.
This is a full cast, professionally recorded production. With professional actors reading the various parts, it was easy for my boys to imagine the story and fall in love with it. What pleased me is that this book actually promotes the values we promote: honesty, courage, loyalty, discipline, and at the same time brings a lesson in history to life. So often literature contains several unsavory elements that prevent me from enjoying it, because children will certainly pick up the bad as well as the good.
The Dragon and the Raven is an adventure story set in the ninth century in England and France. In the opening, a young man, Edmund, loses his father in a battle and begins an adventure of a lifetime, along with his companion, a very young king, King Alfred of Wessex. Throughout the audio, the boys show courage, strength, bravery, and faith. As the story develops, Alfred and Edmund realize that the only hope for their nation lies in turning to God. This is a lesson we all could use!
When you order the 2 CD set for just $29.97 plus shipping and handling, they include the following free digital bonuses:
Free Bonus #1: The complete The Dragon and The Raven eStudy Guide and Discussion Starter. 30 pages of The Dragon and The Raven discussion points, history-learning guides and story-related Bible study. The study guide provides great ways to talk to your kids about the lessons learned in The Dragon and The Raven and how they can be incorporated into their day-to-day life. (A $20.00 value.) – As a homeschool mom, I love when my children get to enjoy a story, then immediately get to talk about it in terms of things that last forever, things with eternal value. Often I have so many children covering so much ground, I am hard-pressed to find the time to discuss every piece of literature or media with them. Having a ready-made study guide takes all the work off me and lets me still discuss the topic with them with intelligence.
Free Bonus #2: A beautiful, printable copy of the inspirational verse (Proverbs 21:31) as quoted by King Alfred in The Dragon and The Raven: “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.” (A $10.00 value.) – My boys will enjoy having this hanging in their room!
Free Bonus #3: The Official The Dragon and The Raven Soundtrack MP3 download. (A $20.00 value.)- I enjoyed the soundtrack enough that I am really looking forward to enjoying the music time and again.
This CD set is well worth the asking price and will be enjoyed by my family many times. We enjoyed the opportunity to review it.
