Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station Books ~ Review and Giveaway

Our family has a HUGE love for all things that go along with the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station from Focus on the Family. We have all of their audio cd compilations and they have accompanied us on all of our road trips…or just going to town trips. And don’t tell the kids, but I’m just as hooked on the adventures and characters as they are!

Our kids also love to read and when we saw there was a new book series based on the Imagination Station, I was on Amazon immediately to check them out. We ordered the newest book, Problems in Plymouth to read together and were hooked!

The Imagination Station books were written to introduce early elementary readers to the world of Adventures in Odyssey. Because there were very few Christian children’s historical fiction series focused toward that reading level, it seemed the perfect target audience. The result was pure fun, imagination and entertainment mixed in with a bit of history and learning!

The two latest books in the series, Showdown with the Shepherd and Problems in Plymouth have been much fun as read-alouds and individual reading in our house. One of our girls has been reading us a chapter {or more} a day at lunchtime so we can all be part in the historical adventures.

Showdown with the Shepherd takes place in tenth century BC and follows Patrick and Beth as they try to find a stolen ring. During their adventure they see firsthand the story of David and Goliath unfold and learn more about the importance of Faith. In Problems in Plymouth, Patrick and Beth travel back in time to the Plymouth Plantation in 1621. During their trip they meet several key historical figures including William Bradford, Miles Standish, and Chief Massasoit.

Our Thoughts

While we did start reading with book six, Problems in Plymouth, the kids liked going back to the beginning of the series to see how it all unfolded. Each of the books can stand alone, but knowing how the adventure all began made the books even more fun.

Each of the books has around fifteen chapters with black and white illustrations throughout the story to help keep children’s attention. Sentences are shorter in length and focus on a younger reading level {ages 7 and up} to help reluctant readers.

I love that this series incorporates history, adventure and imagination all from a Christian perspective. Our kids have enjoyed similar non-Christian series {Magic Treehouse}, but as the other series progressed there were elements that we really didn’t like so we stopped reading them. Knowing Focus on the Family, their beliefs and their other products, I’m happy to add these books to our reading library and continue to support their company.

Find Out More

Parents and children can also visit TheImaginationStation.com to find out secret words, family devotionals, parent guides and more that tie in with each of the books in the series. The website also lists what is true and/or exaggerated for each of the books along with additional links to characters in the stories.

The Imagination Station books are available for purchase through Amazon and are reasonably priced at $4.99/each. These are definitely books that we will continue to add to our library as they are released. The books are intended for the ages 7 and up, although we read them out loud with our kids and enjoyed them as a family {ages 5 and up}.
There are two new books coming in early 2012 as well ~ Secret of the Prince’s Tomb  {available for pre-order} and Mystery of Starlight Island.

The Giveaway!!!

Focus on the Family and Tyndale offered to giveaway a set of SIX of the Imagination Station books to one of my readers!! You all are going to love these! To enter, simply follow the directions in the widget below. You can earn multiple entries, so start clicking to enter!

 
I received a set of books from Tyndale to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not paid for this post and do not need to return the books. Prior to receiving the books, I had already purchased two of the books for my own personal use.

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