This article is in collaboration with Jim Hodges Productions.
Many homeschool families have enjoyed the classic G. A. Henty educational classics. Jim Hodges Productions provides unabridged recordings as Audio Books for our generation.
Recently members of The Schoolhouse Review Crew were privileged to receive MP3 CDs of some of these G. A. Henty classics. Most also included an accompanying study guide in PDF format.
The following selections were reviewed by the Crew:
- Henty Short Stories Collection
- The Cat of Bubastes (BC 1250)
- The Young Carthaginian (BC 218)
- Beric the Briton (AD 62)
- For the Temple (AD 70)
- The Dragon & the Raven (870-901)
- Wulf the Saxon (1066)
- Winning His Spurs (1188-1192)
- In Freedom’s Cause (1296-1314)
- A March on London (1381)
- A Knight of the White Cross (1470-1480)
- By Right of Conquest (1521)<
- St. Bartholomew’s Eve (1572)
- Under Drake’s Flag (1580)
- When London Burned (1600s)
- With Wolfe in Canada (1756-1763)
- True to the Old Flag (1774-1781)
- In the Reign of Terror (1789-1799)
- Captain Bayley’s Heir (1850s)
- Out on the Pampas (1850s)
- In the Heart of the Rockies (1860s)
- With Lee in Virginia (1861-1865)
Because these recordings follow the unabridged versions of the books, children can follow along with the books while listening to the audio books. Jim Hodges shared that one of the reasons he chose to record Henty’s stories was because they portrayed such accurate history. They are filled with action, adventure, and excellent role models.
“His use of the English language is quite advanced and his vocabulary is vast. So much so that some paragraphs I’ve read turned out to be one sentence, and it seems every page has at least 5 to 10 upper level vocabulary words. I am pretty well read, and have encountered words used by Henty that I’ve never heard before and had to look up myself.”
Stories range from elementary through high school (and beyond.) You can reference the scope and sequence shared on their website for specific levels recommended for each story. Most are not recommended for children under eight years old.
“My sincerest prayer is that all young men who read or listen to Henty historical novels will desire to become Mighty Men of Valor.” ~ Jim Hodges
Click on the banner below to read the Crew Reviews!
A big thank you to Jennifer of A Glimpse of Our Life for writing this introductory post.
We love Henty Cd’s. My boys have been listening to Jim for over 12 years. They still enjoy each and every one we have. Now as men (18 & 20) they have taken to listening to them as they drive. We own every Henty that Mr Hodges has recorded and anxiously await new ones.
From the perspective of homeschooling, my sons had HUGE vocabularies at an early age that I attribute to listen to the Henty’s while they played legos. They understood many time periods before we even studied them. I highly recommend EVERYTHING Jim sells. Great product and great customer service!