The Imagination Station Series - New Books! Reviewed!!

About the Book: (from the publisher)

In Showdown with the Shepherd, Patrick and Beth go to the Holy Land in the tenth century BC. Their goal is to get back the ring Hugh stole and return him to 1450s England where he belongs. But troubles await them as soon as they step out of the Imagination Station. First they meet an angry bear and later an angry giant. Set against the backdrop of the David and Goliath story, the cousins learn that having a giant faith is more important than having a giant on your side.

Patrick and Beth’s next adventure leads them to Plymouth Plantation in 1621. There they meet William Bradford, Miles Standish, and Squanto who are trying to establish peace between the Pilgrims and the Indians. Things are anything but peaceful, however, when a musket is stolen and the Pilgrims conclude the Indians are planning war. Only Patrick and Beth know who the real thief is—the traitor Hugh—and it’s up to the cousins to find him and stop him from causing trouble. When the cousins hear a gunshot during the first Thanksgiving feast, their worst fears are realized.

Please check out the Imagination Station website to learn more!!

My Thoughts:

Man, oh, man! This Hugh character is really starting to cause trouble now! Every time Patrick and Elizabeth get close to Hugh and the ring, that sneaky rascal does something else to throw them off track! And in the Showdown with the Shepherd, he just about puts a kink in Biblical history! Thankfully Patrick was a step ahead of him – or at least he thought he was!

If you haven’t been reading Focus on the Family’s Imagination Station series, you really should start! I’ve been with the series since the beginning, and I love the way they release two books at a time and transition seamlessly from one adventure to the next! Kids can learn about many key historical events through the adventuresome view of kids their own age, and they can enjoy figuring out the clues that lead Patrick and Elizabeth to use the odd assortment of “stuff” from Mr. Whittaker.

By the time they chase Hugh from Showdown with the Shepherd into Problems with Plymouth readers will be breathless with anticipation! And right away the two adventurers find themselves trading for their freedom! Honestly, they seem in a bit of a bind this time! But, by the end of the story, you will have a whole new appreciation for the beginnings of a very important national holiday! AND you’ll be left hanging, because Hugh winds up traveling somewhere he NEVER intended to go, and Patrick and Elizabeth are left longing for more adventure! This series really knows how to keep kids wanting more! Enjoy!!

About the Authors:

Creative director for the series Paul McCusker has written over 300 half-hour audio episodes for Adventures in Odyssey and has served as both producer and executive producer. Paul is now Director of Creative Content at Focus on the Family. Series writer Marianne Hering has written a dozen children’s fiction books and more than 40 Bible phonics readers. Now a general book editor for Focus, she is passionate about developing a series for beginning readers. Brock D. Eastman, who co-wrote Showdown with the Shepherd, serves as Product Marketing Manager at Focus, where he has the privilege to work on the Odyssey brand, a show his dad got him hooked on when he was little boy. Writing alongside Hering on Problems in Plymouth is Marshal Younger, who has written over 100 Odyssey audio dramas and the children’s book series, Kidsboro.



*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with complimentary copies of these books.