SummaryAdventurous historical fiction following young teenagers as they interact with heroic and prominent Christians of the past. Each book includes a short biography and bibliography on each historical person. This section covers the years between 1500-1800 AD and features historical people such as Martin Luther, William Bradford, and John Newton.
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StatsGenre: Midgrade (8-12 years) adventure/historical fiction
Series length: Forty books Violence: Moderate--the stories include martyrdoms and references to things such as burning at the stake, but nothing is graphically or gorily depicted. Magic/Supernatural: Only occasional supernatural events, often historically verifiable. Romance: None to very light (e.g. a protagonist attracted to a character of the opposite gender) Christian/spiritual element: Overt, strong Christian content Recommendation: Excellent for girls or boys who enjoy history and like adventure stories. You might like this series if you liked... the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis To Purchase
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Opening Lines:
When I was ten years old, I saw a burning. Forgive me, but I need to tell you about it so you will understand why I got so scared when I saw my master's name on a wanted poster tacked to the door of the Wittenberg church. That burning was the first time I had ever seen a person die. They said he was a heretic--that he did not believe the truth about God and the church. But I found it hard to believe. |
Spy for the Night Riders: Martin Luther
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Opening Lines:
Sarah glanced at the two empty places at the end of the large table. Why weren't Papa and Cousin Miles home yet? Their ship was supposed to come in today--Mama had said. The voyage to England and back across the North Sea with merchandise to sell should only take a week at most, unless... "Miss Sarah!" boomed a voice. |
The Queen's Smuggler: William Tyndale
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Adriaen Wens was tired of hauling sand for his father. He had been hauling sand and mixing mortar all day for three days, and his back felt as if it were breaking. "We gotta take work where we can find it," his father insisted when Adriaen complained about having to work in Asperen, Holland--sixty miles north of their home in Antwerp, Belgium--even though everyone said the winter of 1543 was the harshest they could remember in a long time. |
The Betrayer's Fortune: Menno Simons
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Opening Lines:
Elizabeth Tilley stared in dismay as more men, women, and children cautiously made their way down the narrow ship's ladder. As if the Mayflower wasn't crowded enough already! "Move along! Move along!" rasped a sailor's voice above on the main deck as passengers from the leaking Speedwell were herded below to the tween deck of is sister ship. "I'll not go, I tell thee, husband!" |
The Mayflower Secret: William Bradford
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Bang! Bang! Bang! The crashing yanked Richard Winslow out of a sound sleep. Or was he still dreaming? Was he in a castle with the enemy at the gate? No. As his wits came to him, he realized that he was in his own bedroom, and the banging and yelling came from the front door of his house just below his bedroom. Bang! Bang! Bang! "Open up in the name of the king!" |
Traitor in the Tower: John Bunyan
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Opening Lines:
Would she never hush? Theodore Story sighed and hunched his shoulders against the brisk December wind. Everyone was tired of waiting. And it was cold just standing on the dock. But couldn't his little sister understand that pestering every five minutes with "Is he coming now?" would not make the governor appear any sooner? |
Hostage on the Nighthawk: William Penn
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Ned Carter slapped the reins against the rumps of the mules he was driving and hunched his shoulders against the chilly drizzle. "Yup! Yup!" he yelled. "You mules gonna stand in the mud all day? Move! Move!" The coal wagon groaned as it lurched forward again. September had arrived in northern England, and it had been drizzling for a week. The dirt road leading from the coal mines on the outskirts of Newcastle down to the docks on the Tyne River had become a sea of mud. |
The Chimney Sweep's Ransom: John Wesley
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Opening Lines:
Joseph Shabosh dumped the last bucket of corn slop into the hollowed-out log trough and shook his head in disgust as the snuffling hogs thrust their snouts into the gooey mash. "Dumb, ugly brutes," he muttered, "good for nothing except lying in a stinking mud hole to keep off the gnats and make more work for me." |
The Warrior's Challenge: David Zeisberger
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Opening Lines:
In the early morning light, Hamilton Jones stood quietly on the deck behind his master, Benjamin T. Bowdoin. The old gentleman leaned against the damp railing as the outgoing tide swung the three-masted ship slowly around in the harbor of Charles Town in the Colony of South Carolina. Back on the poop deck the pilot spoke to the captain, and the captain gave an order to the helmsman. He spun the wheel. There was a creaking in the rigging, and a sail caught the last of the night's offshore breeze and snapped tight. The Hawthorne was underway! |
The Runaway's Revenge: John Newton
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For more Trailblazers, check out these additional years:
Years 1800-1859
Years 1860-1900
Years 1900-1995
Years 1800-1859
Years 1860-1900
Years 1900-1995