The Boys of Grit audio CDs are unabridged audio recordings of books published by Lamplighter Publishing in 1925. These classic books focus on well-known men who influenced and shaped our country in a variety of ways. Each CD contains stories of men who used their intelligence, discipline, creativity, and honor to overcome a multitude of obstacles and have a positive impact on those around them.

Each account does a wonderful job of instilling character in children as they listen to the tales of these fine men, possibly even adopting them as role models. The stories are full of surprises and offer little-known anecdotes and information about these men, making them even more real and easy to identify with. The liveliness and emotion in Mr. Hodges readings make for pleasant listening.

These long-playing CDs offer hours of listening time and are well worth the price. I should mention that the CDs are in mp3 format and need to be played on an mp3-compatible CD player, computer, or DVD player. I transfer some of the stories to my mp3 player and keep them available to play over the radio on long car trips with my children. They're a great tool for helping the miles fly by and a nice change of pace from a DVD.

Boys of Grit Who Never Gave Up runs for 4 hours, 36 minutes. You'll learn about men who fought against a wide variety of hardships: Abraham Lincoln, William Corgas, Booker T Washington, Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Jerome Hill, Andrew Carnegie, Louis Pasteur, William Carey, Thomas Alva Edison, Luther Burbank, Dwight L Moody, Alexander Graham Bell, John Wanamaker, Henry Ford, the Wright brothers, John D Rockefeller, and Ignace Paderewski.

Boys of Grit Who Changed the World runs for 3 hours, 6 minutes and details men who impacted our society. Learn about Timothy Eaton, Sir Walter Scott, Samuel F.B. Morse, Robert Fulton, Roland Hayes, Hans Christian Anderson, Isaac Pitman, Robert Babcock, Elihu Burritt, Franz Joseph Haydn, William DeBerry, William Lever, William Prescott, John Clynes, and Isaac Watts.

Boys of Grit Who Became Men of Honor runs 2 hours, 48 minutes. Here you'll hear of George Matheson, Josia Wedgewood, Edward Bok, John Kitto, Booker T Washington, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Jones, Rodney Smith, Henry Fawcett, John Muir, Francis Parkman, Jean Henri Fabre, James Flanaghan, and Francis Chantrey.

I don't think it's possible to listen to these stories without learning something new. And I can practically guarantee you'll run across some enjoyable surprises along the way.

Product review by Dena Wood, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2007