Tag Archives: focus on the family

The Imagination Station Book Review

Imagination Station number 13

Imagination Station number 13

Yesterday morning before church, my friend who happens to also be the church librarian pressed two small chapter books into my hands and said, “I really think Buggy would enjoy these. I ordered them to have some more books that might appeal to the little boys, and they look like a lot of fun…” So I checked them out and brought them home. One was about a knight, the other about a dragon.

I didn’t pay too much attention to the title, aside from the colorful artwork on the cover.

Travis picked them up off the counter once we got home and turned one over. “Oh! These are from Adventures in Odyssey!” And indeed they are!*

Odyssey

How many of you grew up listening to the Christian radio show for children, “Adventures in Odyssey”? I did! My great aunt bought me a whole set of Odyssey tapes one year for my birthday, and I burned through all of them. If you recall, the stories revolved around a kookie inventor named Mr. Whittaker, affectionately known as “Whit” by the children in the neighborhood who hung around his shop. Some stories focused mainly on the children, and taught moral lessons about lying, stealing, cheating on tests, or keeping secrets, while other stories were just plain fun and revolved around the adventures Whit would take the kids on. {Like the Cat in the Hat, sometimes I wondered where the parents of these children were, but oh well}.

The Imagination Station series reminds me of the AIO radio shows, and each book leads to the next, much like the tapes I grew up loving. We happened to grab two books out of order {one is the 4th installment, the other is the 11th}, but I will be calling our librarian later to ask if she’s purchased the entire series.

Book 4, Revenge of the Red Knight

Book 4, Revenge of the Red Knight

{All pictures above contain links to purchase the books through Amazon, and you can catch up with everyone at Whit’s End by clicking on the AIO logo above.}

These books take you on trips through time and different countries via the time machine created by Whit. In this book, the children find themselves helping an injured knight and rescuing an important ring in the Middle Ages. Fencing, duels, knights, and ancient caves are just some of the fun things we’ve discovered in book number four.

Buggy and I sat down to read it this morning and ended up reading together for over an hour! We quickly breezed through nearly half the book. They are about as long as the Junie B. Jones series, or {if you remember them} the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

These books are aimed at children six to ten, and a child who is able to read at about a second grade level can easily enjoy these books, although they made need a bit of help understanding new vocabulary words specific to the time, such as “quill” and “chain mail.” Although I can see how the adventure aspects of the book appeal particularly to little boys {and might be a great series to spark a desire for reading in reluctant male readers}, I have to say, this book is just as appealing to little girls. There’s plenty of adventure, mystery, suspense, and historical information to draw in the attention of any child.

Although you know my love of children’s books, I do not write many reviews. However, I just could not wait to share this series with you! Not only is this series just plain fun, it sparks imagination in children and teaches about world history and time periods that you might otherwise not know about.

I will say, they kind of need to be read in order. Although the prologue quickly caught us up from the first three books, there are still references to the past stories in the book that are a bit confusing. For instance, Patrick states that the “giant eagles attacked the red knight,” and I just kind of went with it, although I have not read the first three books to fully grasp what happened there. We will definitely be backing up to read the first three books after we finish this one.

If you’re looking for a good read with strong morals and lots of adventure for your elementary aged kiddos, I would highly recommend this book. I would also recommend it as a supplement to any history program. It’s great for read-aloud time or independent reading material, and it comes from a company that I feel nostalgic and sentimental about.

So, what are you or your kiddos reading these days? Have you read the Imagination Station books, and if so, what are your thoughts?

Happy Reading!

Kat

*This book contains no affiliate links, and I am not affiliated in anyway with Focus on the Family, Adventures in Odyssey, or the Imagination Station Series. Just an avid reader excited to share a great find! 

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