"Whoo hoo!" my children cheered when I surprised them with the fact that we would be reviewing another Heirloom Audio Productions audio, With Lee in Virginia. As regular readers here know, our family loved both of Heirloom Audio Productions' earlier releases, Under Drake's Flag and In Freedom's Cause.
A Compelling Story of the Civil War
Heirloom Productions take classic G.A. Henty stories and adapt them to come to life in a radio drama style that keeps listeners thoroughly engaged while also imparting examples of Christian values -- and it does so with a top-of-the-line cast, composer and sound effects.
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In With Lee in Virginia, the story of the Civil War unfolds as seen through the experiences of a spirited teenager from the south, Vincent, and his slave and friend, Dan. From the beginning of the story, Vincent staunchly supports kindness to slaves. Yet, as many of his generation did, he joins Lee's cavalry to fight for the Confederacy and, henceforth, the drama and adventure truly begins.
As Vincent and Dan face death, betrayal, imprisonment, and, ultimately, loss of the war they are fighting for, they also develop in their relationship to one another and to their understanding of essential life truths. Growing in faith and fortitude, these boys become men, who though losers on the battlefield, are winners in the bigger picture of life.
Thus, With Lee in Virginia becomes a living history tale as well as a testimony to virtue. With realistic sound effects, a fabulous score, and a well-written script performed by acclaimed talent like Chris Anthony (Adventures in Odyssey), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Kirk Cameron (Fireproof), Kelsey Lansdowne (Curious George), and Jim Weiss (Greathall Productions), With Lee in Virginia is high-quality entertainment. As my family does with all the Heirloom Audio Productions that we have been introduced to, we have found ourselves listening to this one over and over again!
More Than Just an Audio Theater Production
Folks can purchase different packages of With Lee in Virginia, which each contain their own bonuses. In the package I received for review, there was a 2-CD set of the audio drama which brought 2 1/2 hours of riveting adventure to our CD player, which, as I already said, we listened to over and over again.
There were also seven awesome bonuses.
Let me tell you a bit about each part of the package:
- The physical CD-set, recommended for ages six and up, but enjoyed by our five-year-old, too, arrived packaged well and included information about how to download all of the extras that came with our review package. The CD copy of With lee in Virginia features a tri-fold case with one blue and one gray disc. (How clever. My children noticed these colors, which reinforced the typical "blue vs. grey" colors of uniforms from the Civil War.) Betwixt the CD's was a popular quote from Robert E. Lee and an insert about Heirloom Audio Productions and the amazing talent that lent their voices to the audio theater production.
- The MP3 version of the audio drama was among the digital downloads I had access to. It is the same as the audio CD and is something I am grateful for in case my children scratch the physical CD's when listening to them over and over again!
- The With Lee in Virginia Study Guide is a 52 page pdf that contains: short bios of G.A. Henty, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson; reproductions of historical photographs and images; a map of the famous battlefields and cities contained within the story; suggestions for additional readings; a Bible study on Duty and another on Loving Your Enemy; and 30-pages of discussion questions based on each track of the CD. These questions follow the pattern of Listening Well (basic comprehension questions), Thinking Further (questions that help listeners apply lessons within the story in various ways, encouraging critical thinking), and Defining Words (vocabulary pulled from the tracks). It is designed for ease of use, whether used formally or informally.
- The With Lee in Virginia e-book is a full-color, 386 page pdf of G.A. Henty's original story, which I will likely read with the children, or offer them to read by themselves, when they are a bit older.
- An MP3 soundtrack contains all the original score by the Emmy-winning composer John Campbell. It is about 1 1/2 hours long and contains38 tracks of various lengths that are filled with drama and emotion. These are fantastic to play in the background while doing other things. (In fact, I listened to them while writing this review!)
- A printable inspirational quote from Robert E. Lee can drive home one of the messages of the story. Simply print and hang!
- A movie poster that is a professionally designed and 24 x 36 inch printable may thrill collectors.
- Unlimited access to the Live The Adventure Letter E-Newsletter allows you to bring Christian history to life thorugh news, articles, and lessons aimed at both adults and children.
Another Fast Favorite!
No sooner did my children learn that we had received With Lee in Virginia than did they pop it into our CD player at home and listen to it in its entirety while doing laundry and playing with manipulatives, pausing to ask a few questions or offer comments.
Then, the CD-set found its way into our mini-van, where it stayed, being repeated until a belly bug hit our home and the kids asked me to bring it and their other Heirloom Audio Productions CD's back inside to listen to while resting.
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| This feverish child may look like he is sleeping. He was not. He was laying, miserably sick, yet happily listening to In Virginia with Lee - again! |
Yep. You could say With Lee in Virginia was a hit from the start with my kids (with the exception of my girl, who was a little offput by the intense scene where a slavemaster is mistreating a slave towards the beginning. She, though, simply began to cover her ears or leave the room during this part and several of the more disturbing war scenes, and stayed riveted to the rest like her brothers!)As my children have with past Heirloom Audio Productions, they often retold parts of the story, acted them out, asked about new words they heard in the audio drama and began using these words themselves. Thus, I did not find a need to use the study guide formally. However, I was impressed by how thorough and well-ordered the discussion questions in it were and also found that my children were interested in the images in it when I pulled it up to read through. I also liked the included map!
I appreciate the guide's design, which draws the attention of visual learners, allows parents and older children to access vocabulary lists and discussion questions with ease, and is flexible enough to use in both formal and informal studies.
Dramatic Living History for Auditory Learners
Would I recommend, With Lee in Virginia? You bet! In fact, I'd recommend all three of the Heirloom Audio Productions CD-sets that have come out so far. Honestly, we have loved, loved, LOVED each of them and continue to listen to them again and again. The quality of the CD's and their study guides is exceptional and the fact that each not only emphasizes history, but also faith and character make them even better!
In With Lee in Virginia, in particular, I was quite pleased to experience how the main characters face defeat in war, but not in life. Their virtues of courage, faith, goodness and humility shine forth. Even as they fall to defeat in battle, they stand as admirable men of honor -- men who this Christian parent is happy to introduce her children to.
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| As you can see from the questions in this study guide excerpt, faith concepts and the Bible play a significant role in the story. |
Of course, that happiness would be curtailed if my children could not handle the jarring truths of the period in which the main characters of With Lee in Virginia lived in. Due to the slavery and civil war contemporary to the main characters, their story inevitably contains some graphic scenes. As I already mentioned, these were not relished by my daughter, but, in my opinion, they were tastefully presented and more than balanced out by the adventure, history and values inherent in the script overall.
Truly, Heirloom Audio Production's With Lee in Virginia transforms the quality literature of G.A. Henty into an exciting audio theater adventure that is worthy of listening to again and again. My family did just that, and, in doing so, found that we learned and discussed a bit more about:
- slavery
- the Civil War
- Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
- states rights
- the idea that "good guys" and "bad guys" can be "from either team"
- the charge that you should always "do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less," as Robert E. Lee said.
...and more.
Of course, my opinion is not the only one in my household.
When I asked Jack, five, what he would like to share about With Lee in Virginia, he said:
It was great, because of the war. I like when a cannon shell blasted right beside Vincent Wingfield. I was glad he was safe. Everybody in the whole wide world should listen to it, because it is about history.
Nina, eight, liked:
that it was about black's rights. I also liked the name of the horse, Wildfire. (Picture her racing down the hallway like a soldier on the horse now.)... It was scary sometimes, but good at other times. People who do not like death should not listen to this CD. People who like war, history, or adventures should listen to it.
Luke, nine, said:
It was awesome. I liked how, in the end, even though Vincent lost the war, he didn't seem to mind. He gave his slaves jobs as free men. But, I did not like how almost all his friend's seemed to die. It made me realize it was a really bad war..
I used to think war was all fun and games when I was five. Now, I think war is a horrible thing and that if there is a peaceful way, you should use that instead. But I still like playing war games.
(I think this story was trying to tell you) to do your duty and to do it well. Everyone should listen to it, because it is a really good story -- really exciting. I also like how they show a confederate point of view.
My husband was not available for comment as I wrote this review, however, I can attest, that, like the rest of us, he was swept up in the drama of With Lee in Virginia each time it played in our minivan. More than once, we all sat in the minivan to hear the rest of an audio track out. With cheers, gasps, biting lips, tears (from me), and occasional laughs, we came alive as listeners as With Lee in Virginia brought history alive in our CD player.
Learn More
- Experience the quality of With Lee in Virginia with a 1-minute summary and a 3-minute video trailer.
- Purchase a variety of audio drama package options of With Lee in Virginia, starting as low as $19.97 for a digital download version.
- Read about two other Heirloom Audio Productions audio dramas we have been excited to review (and continue to listen to regularly!), Under Drake's Flag and In Freedom's Cause.
- Find With Lee in Virgina on Facebook and Heirloom Audio Productions on Facebook, Google +, and Twitter.
Without question, Heirloom Audio Productions if one of our favorite vendors! We are always wowed by the history, virtue, emotion and characterization included in their professional audio theater adventures. We cannot wait for their next audio theater production The Dragon and the Raven to come out and will be checking out LiveTheAdventureLetter.com to stay abreast of all Heirloom Audio Productions happenings. You might want to do the same.
What resources have your discovered that bring the Civil War to life? Might In Lee with Virginia be a perfect complement to them?
