I received The Cat of Bubastes from Heirloom Audio Productions to review. The Cat of Bubastes is a Christian tale from Ancient Egypt for children 6-16. Younger children can still enjoy it with their parents and siblings. The story is over two hours long and comes on two discs. It also comes with a study guide.
Families with younger children may want to break the audio adventure into story-time blocks. We opted to listen to 20 minutes a day during our usual reading time. After each part of the story, I asked my children comprehensive questions to see what they retained and asked them about the characters and story. The Cat of Bubastes is based on a story by G.A. (George Alfred) Henty. G.A. Henty was a popular English novelist and was best known for his historical adventure stories during the late 19th century. Heirloom Audio Productions turned some of his stories into exciting dramas teaching moral values like bravery, determination and duty.
The Cat of Bubastes is about a 15 year old boy who is the prince of a small nation invaded by Egyptians. Chebron is the son of the Egyptian High Priest Ameres and Amuba who a slave in Ameres' household. Chebron accidentally kills a cat which is a crime punishable by death. He flees with Amuba and they embark on an adventure that teaches strong moral character traits.
The story is full of interesting historical information on Egyptian architecture, family life, methods of warfare, government, geography, and religion. My daughter loved that she learned new vocabulary words that we were able to look up after each listening session. She even requested that we pick up the book on our next library trip (they tend to prefer physical copies over ebooks). I have heard that the book has a slow beginning, but is easy to read, even though it has some challenging vocabulary. The audio adventure on the other hand is very easy to get into. My son is fascinated with Ancient Egypt, so this was the perfect story for him. We were able to discuss how religion changed history, compared Egyptian and Christian religious figures, and symbology.
The downloadable study guide is 47 pages long and can be used for homeschooling or Bible lessons. It contains discussion starters to go over the different historical and Biblical moments in the story. We did not use it to write down the answers, because my children do not write independently yet, so we talked about them as a group. TOS Crew members also received an mp3 soundtrack, poster of the crew, a colorful illustrated version of the original story (Ebook), and coloring pages. We did not use the inspirational verse printable or the behind-the-scenes documentary. You're also given access to the Live the Adventure Letter online Newsletter.
Heirloom Audio Productions creates wholesome entertainment for Christians. They specialize in stories of heroics and coming-of-age stories, like The Cat of Bubastes, Beric The Briton, The Dragon & The Raven, In Freedom’s Cause, and Under Drake’s Flag. For families that attend church co-ops or have homeschool Bible lessons, the audio adventures can be used to teach Biblical history. Heirloom Audio wants to immerse the listener in history and engage them in the story.
Be Social!
