Review: Heirloom Audio Productions

I am sooooo excited to get to do another review for Heirloom Audio Productions this time with Captain Bayley's Heir. And while we have LOVED all of the productions, this one was, on a consensus vote from our family, our VERY FAVORITE!

WE LOVED IT!

(Be prepared to see that theme running throughout this post!)

WE LOVED IT!

Quickly, I wanted to flashback to the previous reviews I have done for Heirloom Audio Productions

• In the Reign of Terror
• Cat of Bubastes
• Beric the Briton

It is always hard to get good images for my reviews that are audio productions because it is something you are listening to. However, this particular production, we listened to in our rental car as we drove from the airport in Burlington, Vermont to Roy & Joni's cabin for our annual family summer vacation. It was about a two hour drive, and we started the production on the car ride on the way to the cabin and finished it on the ride back to the airport.

I took a video after we finished the production. My husband was lost at the moment I filmed it, so please ignore his frazzled-ness near the end. (He really did love this one too! He just wasn't impressed with my timing of doing a video while we were lost somewhere in New England. Ha!)

I have not listened to all the productions. In the past this is something that John did with our kids. It was one review that I would sort of sign out on a bit. But he and all the kids all thought this was the very best production we have listened to. And I have listened to portions of previous productions, and I agreed.

WE LOVED THIS ONE THE VERY BEST!!!!!

(Are you following on my theme here?)

I asked Hannah if she would agree to take a picture with the Captain Bayley's Heir CD. She agreed, but she really wanted to hold both sides of her cape out at the same time. This presented quite a dilemma. She asked if we could tape it to her body, and when I said no, she opted to put it in her mouth:

And here she is agreeing to let down one side of her cape:

Captain Bayley's Heir is the story of Frank, an 18-year-old young man who runs off to America when he is falsely accused of a crime. This crime was an incredibly painful part of the story. To see someone accused of something that they did not do but having no means of recourse was really emotional to me as I listened.

This was the era of the American Gold Rush, and Frank finds himself right in the middle of the rollickin' adventures. While some of the adventures were a bit intense, generally everything that occurred while in America had a sort of "Old Western" feel to it and therefore it felt a bit more light-hearted than other productions. His Uncle (Captain Bayley), cousin (Frank), and long-time female friend (Alice) are left behind to grieve his departure and wonder if he was guilty or not.

This time of wondering truly gave us an opportunity as a family to discuss misunderstandings and not jumping to conclusions. And if someone did do something wrong, can we forgive them? Would God forgive them? And why would people do mean things to other people? What is grace. How does God give it? How can we give it? How important is proper communication?

LOVE THIS!

While Frank is gone, another mystery is unfolding back in Europe: that of Captain Bayley and the daughter that has gone missing. Who then is Captain Bayley's heir? Well, to answer that would be to ruin the entire story so I won't go any farther, but trust me, you'll love listening to find out. And there is a wonderful bit of romance thrown in as well for the female side of our family.

(I am always amazed how anti-love and weddings my boys are and how utterly in love with the idea my girls are. God really makes us different from the get-go, doesn't he?)

So WHY was this our favorite adventures? Well quite simply, we thought this was a bit more light-hearted than the other adventures. While there was still some deep stuff, generally, the sadness and death of some of the other productions was muted a bit in Captain Bayley's Heir. In addition, this story had it all. It had family love. It had romantic love. It had loss. It had being found. It had adventure. It had gold and a treasure hunt! (This was one of our favorite parts -- when the group begins a quest to find treasure in a new location.) This story was simply something that had a little bit of something for everyone.

This was also the first time that every single member of our family listened to an entire production including our youngest member (pictured above). Hannah just turned four, and during previous productions, she just could not follow or would lose interest. But this one kept her captivated and interested right along with her siblings. It truly made our road trip fly by. The CD says that this is for ages 6 and up, but I really think this particular production could be listened to with younger siblings pretty "safely" and easily. There is still some mature content, but generally, Hannah did great!

(Can you tell that I simply loved this audio production?!)

WE LOVED IT! :)

I also loved, as is always the case with anything from Heirloom Audio Productions, the lessons learned. In this case, you learn about forgiveness and God's grace -- as well as the grace that we can bestow on each other as human beings.

And also as always, the actors and actresses playing these roles are of incredible talent. Brian Blessed and John Rhys-Davies highlight a long list of individuals who have been involved in many productions both on the screen and on audio.

And no Heirloom Audio Productions CD would be complete without all the amazing bonus materials that come along with it. This time you can get the:

• E-Book
• Official Soundtrack
• Printable Cast Poster
• Study-Guide and Discussion Starter
• Inspirational Hymn Poster
• Desktop Wallpaper Download

I want to make sure to take an extra moment to discuss the Study-Guide and Discussion Starter as this 38-page downloadable document is the highlight of the materials listed above. Included in these pages are:

• An introduction to G.A. Henty
• Questions to go with the 10 tracks presented on CD 1 and the 10 tracks presented on CD 2:
• The "first level" of questions are called "listening well" and are truly designed for younger children and just sort of cover the facts.
• The "second level" of questions are called "thinking further" and these are non-factual questions. These are thinking questions that make you really analyze what happened in the story.
• There are also "Defining Words" on each chapter so that you can discuss vocabulary presented in that track.
• Three separate Bible Studies. These Bible Studies include lists of different scriptures that go with different sub-topics in each of the studies. The main topics of each Bible Study include:
• God's Grace
• Becoming A Christian
• Honoring Your Parents

In addition to all these fantastic parts of your Captain Bayley's Heir purchase, you can also join the Live the Adventure Club. Club Membership includes:

• Three 2-CD sets shipped to you each year
• Stream over 500 old-time radio shows
• Hundreds of fun activities and games
• Listen & Learn Read Along Program
• Daily Inspiration and Devotionals
• Educational Treasures & Teaching Resources
• Full Access to Live the Adventure Radio
• Community Forum

I am a part of this club and I love it!!

You can actually get three free months to the club, but in the future, it is $24.75 for a three-month subscription (about $8 a month.)

You can truly make an ENTIRE UNIT of homeschooling out of Captain Bayley's Heir from Heirloom Audio Productions. And if you aren't a homeschooling family, this will be a fantastic opportunity to come together and do something fun as a family! Don't miss this one guys! Order today!!!!

P.S. WE LOVED IT!!!!!!