If you like to hear a great story, and who doesn’t, you and your family will love the storytelling of Jim Weiss of Greathall Productions. I first came across Jim’s work when I ordered his Tales From Shakespeare CD. I listened to it with my young girls and we immediately fell in love with The Taming of the Shrew, as told by Jim Weiss. Mr. Weiss is very talented and can come up with a countless number of voices for men, women and even animals. My girls would listen to the Shakespeare CD at night while lying in bed. What a great way to introduce them to Shakespeare.
Once I had a taste of Jim’s work, I wanted all of his recordings. He offers a wide variety of stories, some dealing with history, explorers, the Bible and many more. I had the opportunity to hear Tales from Cultures Near and Far. We were taking a road trip and my 6 children were listening intently to a story called The Three Friends of Manuel. It was so entertaining and exciting that when we stopped for a bathroom break the children rushed off so they could come back and finish the story. We were imitating the characters for a good while after hearing the story and easily recall what it was all about.
These recordings are amazing. The only problem is, which ones should we buy? I would like all of them.
Well, I was recently at Toy Fair and I saw in the brochure that there was a booth for Greathall Productions and they were giving away free samples. I had to get there. I forgot to mention that I homeschool all 6 of my children and my son does Story of the World for history. We have the CD recordings to go along with the book and the recordings are all done by our beloved Jim Weiss. We hear his voice, or shall I say voices, in our house on a daily basis.
I walked up to the booth and there was a woman behind the counter. I saw all of the wonderful CDs displayed on the table and proceeded to say, “I love Jim Wiess!” A man standing next to me said, “Well that’s good, because I am Jim Weiss.”
I know it sounds silly, but I felt almost star-struck. Here is this man whose work I adore. All of my kids have enjoyed countless stories from him. We hear him everyday and he is standing next to me. I gushed all over him and told him how much we love his work. I told him that my kids were going to be shocked when I told them I actually met him. He was kind enough to take a picture with us and sign a CD to all of my children. I didn’t leave empty handed either. I bought 4 more CDs on American History to further our understanding of events.
If you enjoy stories, check out http://www.greathall.com/. They have fabulous materials that you and your kids will enjoy again and again. You can also check out these products on http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_21?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=greathall+productions&x=0&y=0&sprefix=greathall+productions. I can’t say enough good things about JIm Weiss’s work. His recordings are top notch and I know parents and children alike will enjoy his work.