| Author | |
MacBeth
Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2518
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 9:41am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
I see Horrible Histories are now available from Audible.com. Has anyone read these? I know these are British and supposed to be funny.
Kathryn, I think you mentioned these once (were you the one?  )...the BBC audio productions include "extra" information not in the books. Have you heard the audio productions?
__________________
God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog 
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kathryn UK
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 27 2005
Location: England
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 924
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 5:27pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hello Macbeth 
I've avoided the horrible histories. Partly because my dd dislikes history and isn't interested in them anyway, and partly because I'm uneasy with the concept. They are definitely more horrible than the murderous maths books are murderous. They pick all the bits of history with the yuck factor - anything gruesome or lending itself to playground humour. There is a lot of real history in there, but its definitely skewed in the direction of horribleness. I know of kids who have been hooked on history by them, so they can't be all bad!
So the answer to your question is no, I haven't heard the audio versions.
__________________
Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MacBeth
Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2518
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 6:05pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hmmm. I thought the Murderous Maths were pretty funny, but the Horrible histories do seem to emphasize the truly gruesome. They are cheap enough, so I think I'll grab one (perhaps the Normans) and have a listen. I'll review them afterwards.
Quote:
| I've avoided the horrible histories. Partly because my dd dislikes history and isn't interested in them anyway, and partly because I'm uneasy with the concept. |
|
|
You don't suppose she'd care for the spiced-up horrible side of things?  Maybe my boys would find it more appealing...Double .  I think I'm going to go for the Stormin' Normans and let you know. If the boys end up crossing the Long Island Sound and ousting the Governor of Connecticut, I'll let you know!
__________________
God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MacBeth
Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2518
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 6:30pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Well, after all that, Audible tells me that my geographical location prevents them from selling me the book. Go figure.
__________________
God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
alicegunther
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 28 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1992
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 8:12pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
MacBeth wrote:
| If the boys end up crossing the Long Island Sound and ousting the Governor of Connecticut, I'll let you know! |
|
|
ROFL! Now that is something I would like to see on video tape!
The girls picked up the Horrible Histories on the Romans at the library, but the moment I saw perused it, I asked them to skip it. Allie in particular is on the squeamish side, and I feared some of it might get her sick. That being said, we read plenty of gory stuff on the Christian martyrs and the gladiators and the Roman Coliseum, and she was fine. It's just that the Horrible Histories seemed a bit too focused on the gruesome.
__________________
Love, Alice
mother of seven!
   
Cottage Blessings
Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MacBeth
Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2518
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 8:55pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
alicegunther wrote:
MacBeth wrote:
| If the boys end up crossing the Long Island Sound and ousting the Governor of Connecticut, I'll let you know! |
|
|
ROFL! Now that is something I would like to see on video tape!
The girls picked up the Horrible Histories on the Romans at the library, but the moment I saw perused it, I asked them to skip it. Allie in particular is on the squeamish side, and I feared some of it might get her sick. That being said, we read plenty of gory stuff on the Christian martyrs and the gladiators and the Roman Coliseum, and she was fine. It's just that the Horrible Histories seemed a bit too focused on the gruesome. |
|
|
Yeah, it would be like a really nightmarish KONOS unit. Or the evil anti-KONOS that teaches the 7 deadly sins instead of virtues.
__________________
God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: May 12 2005 at 11:18pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hmmm...my son LOVES the books. Not the American history ones, the ones written by Terry Deary. Gross, yes. He is 13, though...not too young to know about the basics of Henry VIII or Socrates. My son is not a big fiction fan, but he really likes these books...and remembers them. For years. I assume this will translate into decades.
The UK versions are costly; I recently picked up a few at Cathswap for a decent price. I have no idea what the audio versions are like. We're not audio book people, so I don't see us trying to get them.
I realize that the grossness factor (or the reality factor...??) is high in these books. Having said that, I also know it's pretty hard to find a book that deals with, say, Greek mythology or daily life in ancient Rome, that can avoid these difficult/gross/annoying/bothersome topics. It's up to each parent to decide when his/her child is ready to know all of this stuff. There's no substitute for reading the book before your child does, IMHO. My son enjoys the "gross" part but doesn't seem to dwell on it in an unreasonable way...but he's almost done with 7th grade. My daughter, forget it. (2nd grade...she could read the books but would be up all night with nightmares.)
I will be interested to read others' commentary!
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Horrible Histories--Kathryn?
