In late August I was ecstatic to learn I'd been selected to be part of the Review Crew reviewing The Cat of Bubastes.
Whenever my family learns a new Heirloom audio drama is coming up for review, we get excited and wait impatiently for the CD package to arrive. My adult daughter tried to again leave with the CDs before my review, and was only half joking. She gets to take them to listen when she next visits.
My son and I once again had a 90-minute drive scheduled for an orthodontist visit at University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore, so I saved the listening for this captive time. (My son is so busy it is hard for us to find time when we can listen together for such a long time, even for such a wonderful audio drama!)
The story takes place in an ancient era in the area of the Middle East to Africa. The king of Rebu is killed and the prince, Amuba, and his servant and protector, Jethro, are taken captive and made slaves in the region of Thebes, near Egypt. Amuba keeps his princely identity a secret, initially. As they are being transported, Amuba recognizes that he and Jethro will do better if they learn the Egyptian language of their captives. By the time they reach Egypt, Amuba is speaking and understanding Egyptian fairly well, and Jethro somewhat but less fluently.
A priest notes Amuba and Jethro and acquires them to be servants and companions to his son, Chebron.
The story takes many twists and turns. To make the story brief, the "holy" cat of Bubastes dies. Chebron's sister has a cat, which becomes heir intended for the title of The Cat of Bubastes. Then a hunting accident occurs, and Chebron inadvertently kills his sister's cat. Almost simultaneously the boys uncovers a plot of treachery, a plan of murder. They don't know who the target family is, nor the identity of the plotting villians.
The boys flee, as the death of the cat is discovered and their guilt is revealed. Chebron tries to flee to his brother's house only to learn his brother has been murdered.
There is so much more, but I don't want to reveal the whole story. A famous ancient Bible hero makes a cameo appearance in the story, and my son reacted with, "*****! (Bible hero's name) No way!" It was the first puzzle piece to enable us to know where, time era-wise, to know the historical setting of the story. You're going to love it!
You're going to want to know about the bonus package that comes with the CD package! When you purchase The Cat of Bubastes you receive a link to a page where you can access a huge bonus package which includes:
- an MP3 file you can download to your computer of the adventure you receive on CD;
- an ebook of the full G.A. Henty version of The Cat of Bubastes;
- a video, A Day in the Life, of the recording of the adventure;
- an inspirational verse poster you can print out;
- a printable cast poster;
- a soundtrack MP3;
- a study guide for The Cat of Bubastes.
The Study Guide is an amazing tool, particularly for upper grammar to middle school aged children. It is 47 pages long and contains cast and crew credits, and an introduction describing how best to use the study guide to enhance your study of The Cat of Bubastes. There is biographical information about G.A. Henty, as well as the Biblical hero I mentioned above.
The study guide then breaks the story down track by track with helps to enable your students to get the most out of their listening experience. The guide has a page for delving deeper into your Egypt studies, and this is followed by a Bible study section. I don't know how they do it, but every Heirloom audio adventure seems better than the last!
So seriously, history and Henty lovers, you're going to love this one!
Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed The Cat of Bubastes. To read more reviews, click the button below.
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