Review: Adventure in Odyssey: The Official Guide

It’s no secret that I love Adventures in Odyssey. I listen to episodes each afternoon while I update the ABCJLM website and write posts on this blog. Since my teenage years, I have enjoyed the stories of Whit, Connie, Eugene, and Barclay family. As embarrassing as it is, I don’t think there is an episode that I haven’t heard.

I was excited to pass this joy on to our children. And with Bubs and Sweet Pea, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! When the opportunity came available to review the Adventures in Odyssey: The Official Guide, 25th Birthday Edition: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the World’s Favorite Family Audio Drama, I was excited to share all of the behind-the-scenes information with them.

To begin this book, the reader is given the background of Odyssey including a name change, a timeline, and the surprising success of the program. Next are two chapters entitled, “Meet the Cast” and “Meet the Crew.” It was fun to see the photos of the people who have made the characters come alive in our minds.

The rest of the very 650+ page book is devoted to providing information for each of the albums. Each chapter provides background information about the album as well as little known facts about each of the episodes.

Let’s be honest…if you are not favorably familiar with Focus on the Family’s radio drama, you are either bored reading this post or you have given up and gone back to checking your friends’ Facebook status. Understandable. And if this is the case then you aren’t going to appreciate this book. The Official Guide is for die-hard fans.

And, if I have wet your curiosity, I encourage you to begin with the begin with the Gold Audio Series which contains the earliest episodes which in my opinion are the best.

Update: Adventures in Odyssey episodes are geared for children ages 8-12. I do not recommend these for preschoolers.