Need a Break From Family Movie Night? Give Audiobooks a Try! Here's One to Start With...

The entire family just finished listening to Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein which we downloaded using our Audible account, and I couldn't resist posting my review because we absolutely loved it. I figured, why reinvent the wheel when I (think I) already said nearly everything I had to say in the review I left on their website?

If you don't have an Audible account already and have any sort of device you can download audio books to, I highly recommend it as a valuable resource for home educating (and any) families. Audio books can be entertaining, educational, and excellent for keeping the kids (and parents) happy on road trips or during prolonged errand days.

Also, lately, Audible has been adding some awesome new content, such as many of courses from The Great Courses company...and they are all one credit each. Now that's an amazing deal for homeschoolers, especially high schoolers, and for the many dads (and/or moms) who have to commute to work each day, too.

They also have shorter books (as well as longer ones) which are on many of the commonly referenced homeschooling book lists, such as Paddle to the Sea, Tales from Shakespeare, and Parables from Nature.

If you are interested in giving Audible a try, why not try a fun and motivating book like Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein first? You can read on for my recent review of this enjoyable adventure...and please don't forget to check your favorite deal sites or do a Google search for free book or reduced cost promotions before signing up. It never hurts to save a bit of money. You can always turn around and invest it in buying more audio books!

*FYI: I am not trying to promote Audible for any personal gain. It simply happens to be the service we use. If you  know of any others that are good, please feel free to share in the comments below. Thank you!

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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

UNABRIDGED

• by Chris Grabenstein
• Narrated by Jesse Bernstein
Reviewed: 8/5/14

"The Most Fun We've Had Listening to an Audiobook in Ages"

Overall

Performance

Story

What did you love best about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library?

The story line was riveting from the very beginning. The characters were varied and interesting. The plot was rollicking fun in the form of a mystery/game/scavenger hunt held in the most amazing library ever. It was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler wrapped up in a scavenger hunt and a game of Clue. Lots of fun all around. Most of my family, the children ages 3,5,8,10, and 16, plus my husband and I, all thoroughly enjoyed the story. In fact, the kids didn't want to get out of the car as we were running errands until we finished each chapter, and then we had to take the Kindle inside to finish off the story before bedtime.

What did you like best about this story?

I absolutely loved all of the literary and cultural references. The overriding message of the value and appeal of books and learning in general was well-integrated throughout the story in a way that drew my kids into wanting to read many of the titles that were mentioned. As a parent, I loved how it emphasized families and friends playing board games together, the pleasure derived from reading good books, the benefits of being friends with all types of different people, fair play, and teamwork. As a teacher, I can't wait to get a print copy for my older home educated kids to go through so they can highlight some of the books referenced that they have not already read and put them on their reading lists. I really hope that a few of the games mentioned in this book will actually be marketed. They sounded like a lot of fun!

Have you listened to any of Jesse Bernstein’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't listened to his other performances, but after hearing this one, I'd be glad to listen to another. The only performance I've heard that was better was Brendan Fraser's reading of Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. That's our family's other favorite audio book (because his voices are hilarious). I don't know. This one might top it because the story is so much fun and a bit faster paced.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Twelve children. Twenty-four hours. One huge, state-of-the-art library. Who will solve the mystery and win the amazing prize?

Any additional comments?

Don't miss this book. I am not sure why some folks called this formulaic or accused it of copying other works...sure, it references many works of literature and uses traditional literary devices, but it is it's own excellent work of children's fiction (yes, as an adult, I figured out some of the clues ahead of my kids, but they sure had a blast and it didn't bother me one bit to have caught on more quickly). Teachers would do well to incorporate this one into their curriculum, or at least, their recommended reading list. It is excellent as a read aloud/audio book, and would be perfect to pass time on a road trip. Enjoy!

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On an additional note, other audio books we have greatly enjoyed together include: 

• Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke read by Brendan Fraser (also InkHeart, but it is darker and I only listened to it with my oldest two years ago)
• Urchin of the Riding Stars: Book One of the Mistmantle Chronicles (it is the only one available on audio, but it will get your kids jazzed to read the rest on their own) by Margaret McAllister. Great story.
• Ella Enchanted, The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, Two Princesses of Baumarre, and any other books by Gail Carson Levine. Most of them are VERY amusing. A few have serious lessons they teach with the same engaging storylines.
• Eight Cousins by Lousia May Alcott...good classic with wonderful vocabulary. Even my boys liked it.
• The Boxcar Children books (1-3 are available as a set on Audible)
• The Magic Treehouse Books
• The Henry Huggins Collection by Beverly Cleary
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• And, of course, any of the Adventures in Odyssey stories, the entire Jonathan Park series, My Own Stories (most of them), and the Uncle Rick stories from the Boyers (not technically all audio stories...some are retellings of scripture, and wonderful for nighttime listening)...check CBD or Library and Educational Services for the best prices, though the My Own Stories collections are now available on Audible. Adventures in Odyssey and MOS can also be found online for free in limited quantities if you want to try them first.

**Please let me know of any of your favorites in the comments below...especially ones you have found for free download or on Audible or another downloadable audio book service. 

And, of course, if your budget is limited, please don't forget one of my favorite sites, My Audio School (MAS), which for a VERY minimal yearly subscription rate provides links to quality stories and audio productions that are available online for free (and many lovely pictures to complement each selection). 

Quite a few of the selections MAS suggests are difficult to find on your own, plus they categorize them for you, which saves tons of time. Most of them are on homeschool (and some other schools') recommended reading lists. This excellent method of "reading" quality books works very well for children with special needs (such as reading delays or autism), as well as expanding the options for early readers to books which are good for them, but beyond their ability to read independently.

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Lately I've noticed lately that Amazon is providing low cost narrations for many of the books you may choose to download to your Kindle (including free ones, which are numerous). This gives you a much nicer option to listen to than the text-to-speech voices. This feature has really been great for my one struggling reader who loves to read harder books, but benefits from following along as someone pronounces the more difficult words for her. The text-to-speech voice often mispronounces the same words she would (such as reading the word read the incorrect way), so having the option to purchase the narrated audio copy for a few dollars if I already own the book is something I find especially advantageous (and Audible keeps track of what you own on your Kindle and will make you offers based on your purchases). 

You are also able to sync your devices, so you can start listening on one device in the car (such as the cell phone), then pick up with reading and listening on the Kindle or computer later on at the same place. That's awesome. It's especially good when we've run out the battery on the phone listening to the book in the car, and the kids are insisting that we MUST finish the book before bedtime, so we pull up our Audible account on my computer, snuggle on the bed and chairs in my room, and have a bedtime story all together. 

I love family time. 

I love good books. 

Family time + good books = priceless.

Well, that's much more than I planned to say, but I am excited about all these new options for appreciating literature using technology (it can do so much more than be a tool for playing video games). 

I am not saying I will ever give up my many beloved REAL books (no way, not ever!), but I think I am finally ready to embrace the various new ways to get the content of those books into the hearts and minds of myself and my family (and it's not bad to be able to give your own voice a rest once in a while and just sit back and enjoy the experience of listening to a good book, either, is it?).

Have fun exploring the options!

Many blessings to you,

Heather

The Good Old Days at Sugar Creek

Think back to the good old days...Saturday nights meant The Love Boat and Fantasy Island..."da plane, da plane!" Ooops. Actually, I meant the really old good old days. Not my good old days (really, I can't believe I actually watched those shows). Not my mom's good old days. But my grandmother's good old days...Those days back before television took over. The days when families gathered together around the radio to listen to programs with exciting plots and riveting dialogue that left plenty for your imagination to soar freely with. Back then (according to my grandmother) there was one radio kept in a central and important location of the home, and when it was on (which wasn't all the time), everyone listened T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R.

Isn't that an incredible thought in this day and age? Doing things together. These days it seems everybody is so "plugged in" that when you peek inside the *average* American family's home, you will find dad in one room with his big screen television tuned to whatever sport is currently in season; Mom is perhaps in the kitchen with her smaller set tuned to Food Network hoping for some inspiration from Paula Dean (add some more butter, Mom. That makes everything taste better!). Junior is in his room hooked up to his gaming station, his little brother is in the same room, but disconnected because he's connected to some game on the Internet, and sister is texting and Facebooking friends with her iPhone as fast as her fingers can type. All in the same house, but nobody has any idea what anyone else is up to, even if they are in the same room. 

Around here we try to limit that sort of scenario. No, we haven't ditched our television completely. Yet. We have one, hiding in a converted armoire, and we use it for videos and Netflix when mom decides the day is too rainy and cold for outdoor play, or someone is sick, or it's Friday and time for movie and a pizza. Yes, we do have Internet (but not cable), but it is monitored strictly and nobody is allowed to hide in their rooms and be online forever like a hermit (though Tex would like to do that occasionally). I have a phone with 3G (yeah, I know that's not as good as 4G), and my kids use it to call my mom or take pictures with it more than I do. We aren't as "unplugged" as I'd like. I'd prefer to get to the point of a video only once a week (for our movie night), or not at all, and to put greater limits on computer time, but we aren't there yet.

Click here to listen to another old time favorite of ours...Cinnamon Bear

As we transition towards more homey, connected, old-fashioned entertainments, I've added more books on tape and radio shows to our weekly activities, in addition to more reading aloud. Audio stories are great to listen to while I sew with the girls, color with the little ones, or make dinner (instances when I obviously cannot read out loud at the same time). Bubba grew up listening to a favorite Christian radio program, and still has fond memories of all the hours spent in his room with his "friends" Whit and Eugene. Tex likes listening to books on tape while in the car. My little ones love those old "read with me" books that ding when it is time to turn the page.

Click here to listen to The Swamp Robbers, a Sugar Creek Gang story for FREE!

But there's always room for more fun and more favorites, or at least that's our motto. I run a homeschool resource library and I am always on the lookout for quality programs to recommend to friends and family. I've had an incomplete set of the Sugar Creek Gang books (a Christian adventure series for children originally published by Moody Press in the 1940s) on my library shelves for few years, but lacking a child of the age to read them (the young ones are too young to read them independently yet, and the older ones are into other things), they haven't seen as much action as I'd have liked.

Little did I know that all 36 stories are available on cd for your listening pleasure from Beloved Books, a Christian publisher who strives to supply wholesome, family-friendly listening experiences for your family. That's over 100 hours of listening fun, folks (if you bought them all), dramatically read by Paul Ramseyer with old timey charm and sincerity. That's a lot of family time!

The Sugar Creek Gang series is unabashedly Christian. It is about six young boys (the narrator is 9) who are friends and have a "gang" (using the old definition of the word). Each of the boys (except for the narrator) has a nickname that suits his personality. Dragonfly has huge eyes that seem to see everything and Circus likes to perform acrobatic feats. Poetry likes to...you guessed it...recite poetry. He knows 101 poems and has the perfect one for every situation. Throughout the stories, you learn about each of the boys and hear true-to-life stories of their antics and adventures, intermixed with uncensored Christian testimony on an easy-to-understand level. 

We had the opportunity to listen to volume one of the series. One of the story lines includes the conversion of a boy who was formerly their rival, all due to their persistent good witnessing and genuine behavior. While the good choices they make (and sometimes foolish ones) will inspire your children, they will not make your kids feel that their brand of "goodness" is unattainable. The stories are fun, rather than preachy, yet you clearly hear the Gospel message in every tale. Bill, the narrator, carries his small New Testament in his pocket everywhere he goes and prays for his friends, both saved and unsaved. He respects his parents, and is contrite when he makes a mistake. He is grateful for what he has and aware that some kids are not as fortunate as he is, including some kids he knows. 

Because the world is not a perfect place and these stories are true-to-life, we encounter some unpleasant events and people in the stories. One of the boys has a father who drinks and his alcoholism is discussed. Another boy who is not in the gang (and is not saved) has a father with the same issue and his story is thoroughly covered in the first set of cds. I liked how realistic the story lines were, but I also liked how everything was handled with one eye towards heaven (prayer) and the other towards the scriptures (the Bible). 

The boys recite Bible verses and the importance of learning (even poetry!) is emphasized in every story. I think that is great. I wish I did everything as well as the folks in these stories...they are a good example for your kids of how friends and families should be...but in a very real-to-life way, without any fantasy or impossible scenarios. The boys do normal things like pick berries, swim in the swimming hole, fish, go to school, help with chores, have fights (one big one), search for treasure, tromp through the woods, care for one another, go to church, and pray. The stories remind me of Norman Rockwell prints, which is why I included a lot of Rockwell prints in this review. Don't you just want to jump in and join them at the old swimmin'-fishin' hole? I do. I think that listening to the Sugar Creek Gang stories is sure to have the same effect on your entire family.

The stories made my kids want to do all of those things (well, let's hope all of them except for the fighting part) and more. I really like that my children are being motivated to BE REAL KIDS by these stories instead of being motivated to live in a fantasy world. Mind you, I have no problem with many fantasy novels. I just read a great one over the weekend. It was a fun vacation from reality during Hurricane Sandy, BUT for my day to day doings, I think I prefer that my kids hear and practice being REAL people instead of fantasy cartoonish characters because, after all, they will grow up to be men and women, not Bugs Bunny or even Dora the Explorer. 

We have been enjoying listening to the Sugar Creek Gang stories in the car en-route to church and AWANA (it's a half hour drive each way). That gives us time for one episode, and gives the kids something to think about that is worthwhile when they need to sit and keep still. I appreciated the change of pace from our usual listening fare, and there wasn't one person in our car, ages 3-44 who wasn't on the edge of their (car) seat listening for what was going to happen next.

The only reason I am not rushing out to buy every one of the six available volumes is the price, a hefty $54.95 each (shipping is included). You can save $50 dollars by purchasing all six sets at once, plus get an autobiographical set about the author of the books, Paul Hutchens, for $279, but that does make it a pretty high ticket item. I am used to spending less for cd sets of six, and I am not sure yet how I feel about the price.

I can tell you that the stories are definitely worth your while. You can purchase just the first one on cd, an entertaining two-parter called The Swamp Robber, for $4.95 (with free shipping) to see how you feel about them, or you can listen to it with your kids for free online.

The Sugar Creek Gang cd sets would make an excellent addition to your Christmas Wish List for far away relatives who need a simple item they can order online for the whole family. If not that, perhaps you might decide that instead of large gifts for the kids this year, you will want to invest in a year's worth of family time by purchasing the complete set for everyone's benefit (and giving each child a small, personal gift).

What could be a better gift for your kids than 100 hours of happy memories spent together...in the car, the living room, or on your back deck...or wherever else you like to be that makes you happy. Just time, spent together, listening and laughing. That sounds like a pretty nice gift to me.

If you would like to read more reviews about this product, please visit The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

You can also listen to the storyteller, Paul Ramseyer, introduce the Sugar Creek Gang characters and reminisce about the gang here.

See what other find family-friendly Christian products Beloved Books has to offer at their website.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a copy of set one of the Sugar Creek Gang series for the purposes of reviewing this product. No other compensation was received. All opinions are based on our own experiences with this product.

Character-Building Christian Literature

This week I've been listening to the seminars at the Lamplighter Publishing website. They are truly transforming, and while very serious in topic, they are also quite entertaining. If you get a chance this week, listen to a few of them and let me know what you think. You might also want to hop over to OnePlace.com and check out the current episodes of one of their audio dramas. We listened to a  "A Peep Behind the Scenes" recently and it was very moving, as well as fascinating. I read the online version of the book in just a few hours and absolutely loved it. The audio version is adapted, but still very good. Some of the topics are pretty heavy (alcoholism, death), so it may not be one to read with your youngest children (though all of mine listened to it, and we had some in depth discussions about sin), but the message is timeless and the ending is uplifting.

Lamplighter Theater Life Transforming Seminars...by Mark Hamby. He is both transparent, convicting, and amusing. A wonderful mix. Husbands will enjoy these, too.

Lamplighter Theater "A Peep Behind the Scenes" audio story (for a limited time) Episodes 1-4
Read  A Peep Behind the Scenes online (alternate format of the book)

It is so important to make sure that what we are reading and listening to is building us up instead of tearing what we are working on day by day down. It is easy to go for the simple fix and turn on the television to a cartoon or children's show (yes, I do it) that may not be particularly harmful, but neither does it do anything to edify. Why not (at least some of the time) choose selections that teach very good lessons to everyone (including the parents), and develop in your kids an appetite for quality literature and stories? I know I am going to try to do a better job of adding more of these Christian Classics to our reading list.

You can do this by reading books, especially older titles, which are written specifically to teach  moral lessons. They may not be silly, or have a pink frosting happy ending (I like those, too), but you can find stories that are rich in character, deep in message, and full of blessings for your entire family. Start small (with 15 minutes or so), perhaps even starting by fitting it in after you read your usual bedtime stories, or while the kids eat dessert or do the dishes. I'll bet you will find that it is not long before your kids are wanting to hear more, and begging you for just one more chapter.

Here are some classic book titles of a spiritual nature that I found online last night to get you started:

(Some of these are available on the Lamplighter site, and have the introductory audio available for listening to...you might get the family interested in the story by listening to the audio episode, then reading the rest of it out loud to them).

The Basket of Flowers by Christoph Von Schmidt
Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale
Teddy's Button by Amy Le Feuvre
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (audio available)
In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
The Hedge of Thorns by Mrs. Sherwood
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss (or on audio)
Saved at Sea by Mrs. O.F. Walton
Christie's Old Organ or Home Sweet Home by Mrs. O.F. Walton
Poppy's Presents by Mrs. O.F. Walton
The Lamplighter by Maria S. Cummins
Greasy the Robber tr. by Charles Lukesh
Jessica's First Prayer by Hesba Stretton
The Robber's Cave by A.L.O.E.
The Boy of Mount Rhigi by Charles H. Peirce
Ishmael: In the Depths and Ishmael: Self-Raised by E.D.E.N. Southworth

Here are examples from John Ploughman's Talk.

You could teach your children the verses...

John Ploughman's Talk (Plain advice for plain folk) by Charles Spurgeon
John Ploughman's Pictures (More plain advice for plain folk) by Charles Spurgeon

Collection of Little Colonel Books by Annie Fellows Johnston online (I have not previewed these, but they were mentioned other places)

Collection of G.A. Henty Books online (alternate source here)
Collection of R.M. Ballantyne books online

Check out many more books on The Baldwin Project site. 


Project Gutenberg has over 39, 000 free e-books. You may find some of them to not be in the easiest form to read, but if there is an old classic you want to check out, you can check there and have a good chance of finding something.

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Of course, you can't forget about Amazon...Tex and I have collected over 500 free classic books from Amazon and put them in our Kindle collection. Initially, I simply downloaded the Kindle app for computers and he read them from the computer, but recently (for Mother's Day), Hubby was nice enough to give me a Kindle Touch so that I could have the kids read the books from there.

You can find all sorts of old family favorites for free there...books that while not necessarily quite as deliberately character-building as some of the books listed earlier, are sweeter, cleaner, and more innocent than the usual book you find being published today. We've found may of the Bobbsey Twins books, all the Henty and RM Ballantyne books, the Thornton Burgess nature stories, E. Nesbit tales, Robert Louis Stevenson, Clara Dilingham Pearson, James Baldwin, Andrew Lang, Hugh Lofting, L. Frank Baum, and many, many more.

What I did first was to download the free Kindle app for PC from the Amazon site. Then I typed in keywords in the search bar like "free Thornton Burgess Kindle" (these are a favorite of my children, especially Tex, who loves the Reddy Fox stories and Aesop's Fables) and waited to see what came up. You then just go through the "one click" process to add the books you want. 

I find it faster to open up lots of tabs with the books I am interested in, then I go to each one and click on the "buy this book now" button, and move to the next tab. I can "buy" all of the books first, then go back to the beginning and start closing the tabs, because the transaction is completed. Just leave one open to start exploring more from again later. I find new books I want by looking at the "other people who bought this book also bought..." section towards the bottom of the screen. I do take the time to read through the reviews, if there is a book with which I am not familiar. Usually I find the reviews to be fairly reliable.

Here's Amazon's take on how to start finding free e-books for your Kindle.

Jimmie has a nice article on Squidoo about using the Kindle in your homeschool.

Marcy at Ben and Me compiled a great list of FREE Kindle books from Amazon. Her list is an excellent place to start. It will keep your kids reading for weeks...

Here's a list of FREE! Kindle books for homeschoolers on Amazon. I simply Googled " free kindle books homeschool" and found it. There might be more, since this list says it is list number four. I just have to wait until I have some free time to explore it...

Ambleside Online has a great reading list to give you ideas of books to look for. Their curriculum is free, and the books in the list support it. It is a Charlotte Mason approach, which uses Living Books as the core teaching method, so you can be sure that the book choices will be good.

Another huge book list is from the Classical Education website.

Heritage History will give you access to a plethora of FREE! history-related titles on their website. To add them to your Kindle or other reader, you must make a purchase, but if you just want to read from your computer screen, try them out for free online.

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**Another family-favorite source of classic literature, but in audio form, is My Audio School.


You can also head over to Librivox and look up any book you haven't found yet. I can't guarantee the reader will be interesting (some are very soothing to listen to, while others are a bit of a snore. You just have to give them a try...).

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Speaking of audio books, here are some quality audio story sites  from my homeschool-for-free website your family might enjoy listening to together. They are favorites of my kids.

**Adventures in Odyssey is a permanent family favorite in our household. I can't think of a more pleasant way to while away the miles on a long trip than to join the well-rounded characters from Odyssey on a new adventure. This charming Christian radio drama is produced by Focus on the family. Your kids cannot spend time listening to these stories and not gain a tremendous amount of Bible knowledge. Here's another link with an extensive collection of episodes at FAIO.

**Down Gilead Lane is a wonderful radio drama from CBH Ministries centered around small community life. My kids have listened to it for year and higly recommend it. Your kids are certain to engage with the interesting characters and story lines, and will build up their own character in the process.

**Your Story Hour is a classic Bible-based broadcast for kids of all ages. These lovely broadcasts help develop strong Christian character with mrmorable stories from the Bible, famous people, and folks just like you and me. The motto of the ministry is: "Making boys and girls of today, better men and women tomorrow." *Interested in a Bible Study program for your kids? This ministry offers a program through the mail, and every time your child returns two lessons, he receives a new CD from the Life of Jesus Series. By the end of the study, he will have the entire 13 CD set. Now that's a freebie I will look forward to receiving!

Paws and Tales is a broadcast from Insight for Living that teaches Biblical principles to children through stories of friendship and adventure. These stories incorproate music and lovable animal characters, so they will be especially appealing to younger children.

Okay, I won't say that this site is a character-building site on the same level as some of the other more serious content I have listed (can it be when it is so much fun?), but Jelly Telly, from Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales, is hysterical at times, and Biblically informative at others. You can watch full episodes of Adventures in Odyssey and Last 

Chance Detectives here, and it is a good solution on a day when mom or kids are feeling under the weather and need a bit of cheering up. Be sure to check out the Sunday School Lady. She's a hoot.

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Well, that's all I have for today. I hope you discovered a few new treasures. If you know of any more FREE! quality character-building literary and audio materials that we might like to add to this list, please feel free to leave a comment with a link so that everyone can see them. Thanks!

Schedule for the week:

Monday--What is good character and Who needs it??
Tuesday--Why must we deliberately train for develop good character?
Wednesday--How can we develop good character in our children? (with links to character-building freebies and our favorite not free character training resources.
Thursday--How reading aloud to your family will help strengthen character and your family. (With links to online/downloadable free quality literature and audio books)
Friday--When do we train for character and who benefits...Developing character in your children through serving others.

See what 67 other bloggers have to say about 67 different topics during
5 Days of Blogging with the TOS Homeschool Crew!

Blessings,

Heather