Under Drake's Flag audio CD is an audio adaptation of the book by G.A. Henty. Although I have never personally read any of G.A. Henty's work {that I am aware of}, I was still interested in reviewing this audio CD. That being said, I am not sure how much of the book was adapted to fit in this exciting audio CD set.
While searching for information about G.A. Henty, I found it interesting that while he wrote alike others of his time by infusing character traits in his writings he also added a unique historical spin. G.A. Henty's adventures each take place during some period of human history.
Under Drake's Flag is an adventure set on the high seas. Young Ned Hawkshaw embarks on a journey with the famous, Sir Famous Drake; he fends off sharks, faces fierce battles, and meets the Spanish Inquisition. The story is full of courage, determination, and faith all while having you sit at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next!
In this two hour Active Listening Audio Drama you'll experience the adventure for yourself; I would bet it is unlike any other audio cd you have listened to! The audio CD set retails for $29.95 plus shipping and includes the two hour audio CD, study guide, and copy of Sir Francis Drake's prayer. We also had the opportunity to download a much more detailed study guide in pdf format. It is suggested for ages 6+.
Active Listening Audio Drama is a faster paced audio drama that seems to take story-telling and sound effects to a whole new level. I was very impressed with the quality of the story and the old English accents! However, as I have briefly mentioned before that audio CDs- music and/or story- sometimes present a challenge to my ears, so not everything was audible for me to understand what was being said because of the accents and my basic laptop speakers.
I had hoped to be able to enjoy this story while driving on the road, but was unfortunately met with a broken CD player! I think it would have captivated my buckled in passengers and let their imaginations play off the story instead of the viewing the simple everyday car-ride scenery. We ended up playing the audio CD on my laptop during lunch time. My 7, 3, and 1 year old sat and listened, but it was my 7 year old who enjoyed it the most. He affectionately called it, "The Pirate Story."
We used this opportunity to just sit and listen to the story, but as I mentioned above, the audio CD set comes with an abridged version study guide in the CD pamphlet, but also a much more detailed and complete study guide can be downloaded for free. The study guide is to enhance your child's understanding of what is happening in the story and the principles it teaches. The study guide of the CD contains three parts for every audio "chapter":
- Listening Well: comprehension questions relating to the story.
- Thinking Further: questions that provoke and speculate about what is going on in the story.
- Defining Words: vocabulary words to listen and find meanings for to aid in understanding of the story.
At the end of the study guide are three very brief Bible Studies about Godly Character, True Manhood, and Confessing Christ. The pdf study guide also includes a book list of more books to look into about Sir Francis Drake.
The audio drama definitely sparked a real desire to get a copy of this book to read for myself, but also to incorporate G.A Henty's literature in our homeschool down the road! Hopefully our CD player in the car will be fixed at some point; I'd love to enjoy this story on the road. Many other Crew Members had the opportunity to listen to this "swashbuckling" adventure, too; read what they had to say!
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