Brinkman Adventures- TOS Crew Review

Ian Bultman and his family have a heart for missionaries.  Lucky for us, they also have a heart for sharing missionary stories.  The result - The Brinkman Adventures.

We recently had the opportunity to review The Brinkman Adventures- Season 2, Episodes 13-24.  Season 2?  Yes!  You see, we had been exposed to The Brinkman Adventures a while back when we bought Season 1.  Loved them then, love them now!

Season 2, consisting of 4 CDs and over 5 hours of audio drama missionary stories, is just as wonderful as the first and my family was thrilled to add this set to our listening collection. The Brinkman Adventures are appropriate for family listening, but do be aware that some of the scenes are pretty intense and serious topics like slave trade are addressed.  If that concerns you, you may want to preview them first.  Our whole family enjoys listening to The Brinkman Adventures together normally, but for this review we have listened to them separately, mostly because my oldest son, age 12, hijacked the set as soon as it arrived and listened to them all in about a day.  Then listened to them again.  And possibly again.  Since then, my youngest and I have been listening to them together during quiet time.  Luckily for my daughters and husband, we have a road trip coming up so they can have their chance.

All of  the stories told, 10 total with two in two parts, are based on true missionary stories.  Some names have been changed to protect those involved, but other than that they are true to life.  Ian's children even play their own parts!  One of my favorite parts of this company is their website!  Under the REAL STORIES tab are video clips and additional information about each story.  These have been just as much fun for us as the CDs!  In addition, under the tab FUN STUFF you will find behind-the-scenes video clips as well as printables that correspond with season one.  We hope season two printables are coming soon! Under the LISTEN tab you can listen to episode 9 The Provider.  Go ahead, have fun!

What do we think?

Love this!  Really, we do!  Books are important in our house, but sometimes we just enjoy sitting back and listening to a story told to us.   When those stories are about God and His people, well, that makes it all the better!  I love that my kids are being exposed to countries and cultures other than their own and being inspired by real people to make a difference in God's world.  It is not only a great way to build listening skills for younger children but also a time of bonding and quiet time for our family.

Our favorite story... that is hard!  I think my favorite by far was the Blue Hat & Shirt Bible.  I loved the story about how the Christians problem-solved to get a Bible into the hands of a Christian in China, but it was even more endearing to me once we watched the video clip of the real missionary telling part of the story in his own words.  The excitement and joy just radiated from him and it warmed my heart to see him talk.  My 12 year old's favorite story was Sapphire Slaves, which is one of the two part stories. When I asked him why it was his favorite he said, "I like Sapphire Slaves because it is one of the most exciting episodes.  It tells of a some kids who have been taken slaves and how they are rescued.  It is intense!"             

You can follow the Brinkman Adventures on their Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brinkman-Adventures/152895116079

Brinkman Adventures- Season 2, episodes 13-24 can be purchased for a suggested donation price of $25.00 (free shipping) for the CD set or $17.00 for the MP3 version.

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.