RAR #58: History, Heroes and Henty, with Jim Hodges
Are you and your kids familiar with books by G.A Henty? You’re certainly going to want to spend some time with him after hearing this episode.
Jim Hodges, audio actor, former homeschooling dad, and creator of Jim Hodges Audiobooks is talking with Sarah in this episode about how to bring Henty, and history, to life.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- his research process
- what it takes to engage kids with audio stories
- and how audiobooks can shape our kids and help struggling readers
Tune in for some great historical audio recommendations for kids of all ages!
Click the play button below:
Books from this episode:
(All links are affiliate links.)
Links from today’s show:
- Jim’s site
- The Lion of St. Mark
- Stories of the Pilgrims
- Four Great Americans
- American History Stories
- Uncle Wiggily Stories
- Uncle Rocky – Fireman
- Peter of New Amsterdam
- Richard of Jamestown
- Beric the Briton
- RAR #01: Reading Aloud to Older Kids, Andrew Pudewa
- Treasure Island
- RAR Twelfth Night Book Club
- RAR #49: Why We Should All Be Reading Aloud to Children, Rebecca Bellingham
- Rebecca’s Tedx Talk
- Sarah’s travel schedule
Jim Hodges recordings are available as mp3s. You should be able to download it to your computer and then transfer it to your mobile device.
I heard this podcast (and a few others!) while I was gardening yesterday, and only when linking a friend to your site today, did I remember, “Yes! Henty!” So I scooted over to the library and reserved an audio recording of “The Cat of Bubastes.” So excited to hear this one read aloud–one of my girls tried to read this back in elementary grades and, later I found, didn’t even finish it. I struggled with the first few pages myself, and am so glad to try an audio version this summer.
Thanks for all you do. Looking forward to joining in membership when you reopen those doors in October.
Woot! Can’t wait for October, Courtney!
Hi Sarah!
I have never heard of the Read Aloud Revival until a friend forwarded episode #58 through our common interest of G.A. Henty. With over 1,000 books in our home, reading aloud is definitely our family culture! Here’s one side benefit we had not expected: as our daughter worked on a cross-stitch sampler while listening to books read aloud, she “stitched in” the stories, and could later point to various parts of the finished product and tell what stories were being read when. What a fun new way to look at your artwork ever after, and be reminded of the stories you heard.
Oh! Those stories are really woven in! So glad to have you listening along, Christine!
This was great! Such a good conversation and I am delighted to have this new resource. Can I ask a silly question? I really hesitate these days to buy any books that are not on audible. One, it is hard to keep track of things with lots of littles around so the less extras the better and two, I have such bad luck with cds…they always seem to get scratched even when brand new. However I would love these recordings. Any chance someone wants to explain to me what format these recordings come in, cd? MP3? And how do others them make these items easy to access and use on mobile devices? I know this makes me sound like a dinosaur…I am the only thirty year old in the world who still has a flip phone, and asks questions like this. I would just really be sure I can easily access these stories on something like an iPad in a similar way that I use audible. If it is cds or something I can only use on a computer I am just afraid I won’t use them well.
Jim Hodges recordings are available as mp3s. You should be able to download it to your computer and then transfer it to your mobile device.
Hello, I am new to this. I have volunteered to help “at risk” children to read. I am working with a 9 year old girl that can’t read.
What do you advise?
Thank you so much 😊
I would look into All About Reading. Also , check out Dianne Craft for info on learning disabilities.
Also, Alphaphonics by Samuel Blumenfeld is amazing for teaching people to read. But I would also say that reading aloud exciting stories alongside it is just as important. What worked for me was an approach I took with my student: first you read to me for 15 minutes and then I read to you for 30:)) All the best, it is SO rewarding to see someone make progress in reading!!
Just signed up! Thanks for introducing us to these artists!
I love so much about this podcast! While I was listening, I went to my library’s website to look up the GA Henty books on cd. The first one that popped up was Beric the Briton! Can’t wait to listen to it!
Also, we have listened to Stockard Channing reading the Ramona Quimby collection over and over and over again! We HIGHLY recommended it!!! Also, Kate Winslet’s performance of Roahld Dahl’s Matilda is simply MAGICAL!! We adore audio books and I have often wondered about the process of performing them, so it was so nice to hear Jim’s process. I appreciated hearing about it!
Thanks for all you do and share, Sarah!