our island story

[tilbatilba]

I can't remember where but someone recently mentioned their child loved listening to "Our Island Story" ..... Having never heard of this book I have now found it on Amazon and realise how ignorant I am and just how famous it is!

I think my children will love it but what CD do you recommend? There is a "Best Of" or is it better to get the 3 individual CDs of the book???

Has anyone read the one on Scotland?

My dd's are 7+8 and we will be travelling for 4 months from June so any other recommendations of talking books that I can download onto their ipod would be fantastic.

Tilbax

If it is the same "Our Island Story" that I loved as a child, I would be a bit loathe to put it on their Ipods - I think it should be listened to everyone so that there can be some family chat about it. It's a wonderful book - a brilliant historical overview full of thrilling stories and generally a good thing. BUT if it hasn't been revised at all, it presents a very Anglocentric and pro Empire view that I wouldn't want my children to absorb without discussion.
[off to Amazon to buy Our Island Story for dcs]

I thought this was Xianas thread

We have been reading it to our kids and I think it's worth going through from beginning to end. I definitely agree with the view that it should be discussed. Even during the course of a chapter.

My husband is Northern Irish and I am English with German roots, but brought up in Dublin. You can imagine how different our reactions to certain chapters have been!

Well, I am half Irish half Sicilian but both my parents were born in Australia. My dp is a Yorkshireman with strong Irish roots, and we are both pretty left leaning politically and I was brought up in a pacifist family. You can imagine the fun we had with OIS!!!!!!

We have enjoyed Dr. Doolittle, Secret Garden (BBC version narrated by Helena Bonham Carter) and Jungle Book.

It's also available online:

Our Island Story

I still have the original version upstairs - it's not really as bad as it might be for the time it was written, but I agree it would probably need some discussion. It is a very good 'story' though, and it (along with Jean Plaidy!)inspired my interest in History, and led to me taking a degree.

We had 'Our Empire Story' as well, my granny HE'd my dad when they lived in India in the 40's ( the bit which is now Pakistan) I feel that this is never likely to be re-published. i agree it needs to be discussed but it's a great book.

It has been republished, clutteredup - I was looking at it in a bookshop a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't have time to do more than skim the modern introduction - as far as I remember it said it hadn't been revised all that much.

Last year The Daily Telegraph got readers to sponsor it being reprinted and it is to be distributed to all schools free of charge.
A bit of nostalgia for a lot of readers as well.