CREW Review- Sugar Creek Gang Audios

Have I mentioned I have an auditory learner in my house?  Yes?  Thought so, but it bears repeating.  I am convinced once you learn your child's learning mode, you can open a whole new world up for teaching them...and entertaining them.  My 10 year old likes to read, but he LOVES to listen- so we have LOTS of books and adventures on CD in our home.  We have recently had the privilege to add a new family favorite!  The Sugar Creek Gang Audio Series.


For this review we were blessed to receive Volume 1; 6 stories on over 12 hours of CDs from Beloved Books.  Beloved Books is a wonderful company dedicated to bringing to your home wonderful classic stories and songs, including histories, missionary stories and even the popular G.A.Henty books!  Some of you may be familiar with the Sugar Creek series because of the more recently published books, but these sets are recorded straight from the 1939 original books written by Paul Hutchins. 

Stories included in Volume 1-

The Swamp Robber
The Killer Bear
The Winter Rescue
The Lost Campers
Chicago Adventure
The Secret Hideout

Primarily my oldest son has listened to the CDs in his room by himself, over and over.  During quiet time, while playing, at bedtime, while he got dressed.   Did I mention over and over?  The few times we have managed to get him to share we have listened to them as a family in the car as well as during some quiet, down time in our home.  From a 5 year old up to a 40 something year old ;) have enjoyed these grand adventures.  Though the gang is a group of boys, I have no doubt that girls will enjoy as well!

Listening before bedtime

Think back to the time of when families gathered around the radio to listen to a broadcast program together.  The stories are about a group of boys who are close friends and their many adventures.  Poetry, Dragonfly, Bill, Little Jim, Big Jim, Circus, and later Tom are a group of middle school to early high school kids who love to hang out together and share adventures.

Narrated by Paul Ramseyer, the story is told by "Bill". Paul's voice is smooth and easy to follow.  He changes his voice between characters, keeping you interested each minute.  He is, quite honestly, one of the best narrators I have heard in a long time.

My favorite part?  In between a fun and sometimes breath holding adventure are little nuggets of Truth from God's word, scripture and moral lessons.  Simpler times of boys fishing at the fishing hole, great advice like "work comes first then play", and often a few things to make you think make these CDs  good conversation starters within your family.  If I can have my children enjoying stories while at the same time hearing the Gospel in a fun, non-threatening way, I say send us more!

My son's favorite part?   He liked the idea that the boys had so much freedom after they took care of family responsibilities and chores.  (This gave us an opportunity to talk about how the world has changed and why in many areas in our country it is not safe for boys to just take off and do their own thing all day long.)  He also liked the adventure and that the plots kept him on the edge of seat a few times! He did voice frustration that each story left you hanging at the end, but I think that is a great way to create excitement and surely spurred him on to continue listening. 

Because they are a continuing series, Beloved Books does encourage you to listen to the stories in order.  While each story could stand alone, spiritual foundations are laid in the beginning that are built upon throughout the following stories.

You can order Volume 1 for $54.95, or all six sets that cover 36 books and over 100 hours on 72 CDs for the sale price of $279.70.  While a little pricey for many homeschoolers, I do feel like these sets are worth the money and will find themselves among your favorites for many years to come.  Think about them as an investment in good entertainment!  To try them out, you can order the first complete story, Swamp Robber, for just $4.95!  See what you think!

Also, as a special treat to my blog readers- use the code FAMILY-FAITH-FRIDAYS-20 at checkout, and get 20% off your entire order.  Happy Shopping and THANKS Heather!

To see what fellow CREW mates had to say about The Sugar Creek Gang audios, click on the banner below.

  Disclaimer- We received Set 1 of The Sugar Creek Audios from Beloved Books in exchange for our honest opinion of the product.  Opinions expressed are our own and were not influenced by the company in any way.