It’s summertime and you know what that means: vacation!

During the summer months, our family likes to take road trips to visit our grandparents on the ocean or to have some rest and relaxation up north, in the mountains. Unfortunately, with three little ones, road trips are anything but peaceful. We’ve tried various strategies to keep them quiet and happy(ish) over the years.

At one point, we gave in and purchased a portable DVD player for the car. The kids would fight over who could see better and then they’d complain that they couldn’t hear the audio over the ruckus. Meanwhile, I hated having a kid show blare behind my noggin for hours on end.

One day last spring, we opted for audiobooks instead of the DVD player. We were listening to one of our favorite audiobooks, A.A. Milne’s Pooh Classics Boxed Set, when my children started talking about how the reader, Peter Dennis, was completely believable. My oldest said something along the lines of, “The only thing this audiobook needs is some sound effects and it’s like a movie!”

This sparked a conversation about radio theater. I explained that before the advent of television, families would gather around the radio and listen to radio dramas complete with music and sound effects. The kids were fascinated and wanted to know if we could listen to radio theater. I promised them that I would look into it upon our return…

… and then, I kid you not, a week later I was given the chance to review the Heirloom Audio’s audio drama, The Dragon and The Raven, based on the book by G.A. Henty. Needless to say, I went for it! Life is so funny sometimes!

Make Road Trips Educational with this Audio Drama

*Disclosure: I received the audio drama ‘The Dragon and The Raven’ from Heirloom Audio at no cost and was compensated for my time to write a review. I was not required to write a positive review and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I only share resources I would use with my own family and those that I believe other families will enjoy.

Heirloom Audio specializes in Christian-based historical fiction audio dramas. Heirloom Audio is the producer of The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty audio adventure series. G.A. Henty was a popular English novelist and war correspondent in the late 19th century who is best known for his historical adventure stories. I typically share secular resources on this site, but this opportunity meshed with my children’s current interests… and it was a perfect way to squeeze in some stealth learning while traveling!

Add a little history to your road trip with audio dramas

The Dragon and The Raven is a 2-disc audio theater set featuring over 2-hours of adventure for ages 6 and up. This audio drama is adapted from the book, The Dragon and The Raven, by G. A. Henty. It is performed by John Ryhs-Davies, Helen George, Brian Blessed, Sylvester McCoy, John Bell, and Katherine Kellgren and features original music from John Campbell.

The Dragon and The Raven tells the story of Edmund, a young Saxon boy, who joins the young King Alfred of Wessex in the fight to protect England from the invading Danes. The story is filled with adventure and suspense. Unlike a typical audiobook, audio dramas feature music and sound effects. My oldest son called The Dragon and The Raven “a movie for your ears” and I thought that was a perfect description.

We listened to the complete audio drama on our last trip up north. For 2 1/2-hours, my children were riveted… and completely silent! I love that we could listen to this audio drama together on our road trip. Not only did it keep my children thoroughly engrossed and content, but I love that they getting a little history lesson!