As a child I remember my dad reading us the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy over and over. He may have only read it through once to us and it was so special that it seemed as though it was a reoccurring event. (Dad, when you read this...set me straight. How many times was it read to us?) Anyway, last year I read the 7 books of Narnia to the girls over the winter because they are amazing reads and in anticipation of the movie coming out. I didn't want them to see the movie without having read the books. (We all know that the books are always, far and beyond, better than the movies.)

This winter I started our nightly reading time before bed again. I had wanted to continue all year long, but the summer nights are extremely long and the kids are happily playing in the streets until bed time and I am usually exhausted from a long day that we quickly abandoned the ritual.

A few weeks ago I told the girls I wanted to start reading The Lord of the Rings. They said they weren't ready. They think they will be too scared. They have seen the covers of my Extended Versions of the movies and have seen the old cartoon version of The Hobbit. I used to love that movie as a kid. Anyway, they begged me to let them hear The Chronicles again. Since these books never get old, I had no problem saying ok. As I started the first book, (not in the order they were written, but the chronological order) The Magician's Nephew, I tried using my pathetic English accent. It wasn't pretty. Then one day I was looking on Ebay for a new set of books (we have the big monster compilation book and it is looking ragged) I saw a collection of audio books. I bid on them and won. 

What a gem I found! It is incredible! The voice actors are top-caliber. Dreamy, some of them. The Magician's Nephew is voiced by Kenneth Branaugh (love him!).  We are just starting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the voice is Michael York. The other actors are Patrick Stewart , Derek Jacobi (from Much Ado About Nothing), Jeremy Northam (from Emma), Lynn Redgrave, and Alex Jennings. To hear their beautiful English accents and the way they bring the different voices to life is the way these books were meant to be read! I highly recommend this collection.

They are on sale on Amazon for $47, normally $75. Absolutely worth the money!

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Posted by Murdockb

Those audiobooks sound great. We have the Focus on the Family dramatic version and the girls love them. But I think they are abridged. :-(

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Posted by Jilann

We have the Focus on the Famil CDs as well. My girls love to listen to them! I'll have to check out this version as well. We have yet to dive into the Lord of the Rings. I am likely the one holding back from that adventure. I can't say it's at the top of my "I love to read" list. So, I can relate to your family.

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