No matter how well your children read, there is nothing like hearing a story read aloud. They can close their eyes and call upon their imagination to paint the vivid pictures that the stories convey. Listening to stories promotes creativity, improves vocabulary, and promotes relaxation allowing a child to wind down in the evening in preparation for sleep.
Pair the valuable act of listening to stories with the values in the Adventures of Gus & Phil, and you have a winning combination. According to the author Ivan Benson, these stories were originally created “as a medium to talk about events that were going on in the lives of my daughters: birthdays, holidays, tragedies, friendship struggles, adventures, school, etc.” He made up these stories spontaneously at bedtime to tell to his now adult daughters. By creating characters originally based on David and Goliath this creative father and storyteller was able to create stories that would speak to the heart of his children. Now these stories are available to your children too.
As a family entertainer at the famous Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, and a homeschooling father, it was only natural for Ivan Benson to record these stories. If you listen closely, you will observe that his close-knit family supplied the background sound effects and vocals. The stories have a quality reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting with the sensibilities of a time long gone. As the author stated, “Gus and Phil stories can be so effective; (as) they are, indeed, stories about each of us either as we are, or as we would like to be.”
You can read customer reviews and listen to one of the Gus & Phil Stories at Gusandphil.com where there are also audio CD’s available for purchase. While they are geared toward children from ages 5-12, I highly recommend them for the whole family. Illustrated books and the further development of the website are in progress and can be expected in a matter of months.
Andrea Hermitt is a families.com blogger who writes on Homeschooling issues.