Summary

Adventurous 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.

Stats

Genre: 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
Germany, 1520s
by Dave & Neta Jackson

Karl Schumacher was fifteen when he came to the German city of Wittenberg in 1520 seeking an education. He had been very fortunate that the esteemed university professor Doctor Martin Luther, had taken him into his household as a servant. Luther’s promise of tutoring Karl in exchange for his labor was the chance of a lifetime-until a poster on the church door declared his master a heretic!

Karl is asked to travel with Doctor Luther to appear before the emperor’s Imperial Council in the city of Worms. Will his life be at stake as well as Luther’s? And who is the mysterious young lady who shadows their trip? Could she be a spy for Luther’s enemy, Doctor Eck?
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Or might the night riders be secret supporters of Luther? With danger lurking on every side, who can Karl trust?

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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
​England & Belgium, 1535
by Dave & Neta Jackson

Sarah Poyntz is the daughter of an English merchant who operates a shipping business from Antwerp, Belgium, in 1535. Her father is very interested in the ideas of William Tyndale, who has fled England as a condemned outlaw for refusing to stop his translation work of the English Bible. Tyndale believes that the Word of God should be read by the common people in their own language, a belief shared by the Poyntz family.

But when Tyndale is captured and imprisoned, Sarah becomes the only hope for saving his fife. If she can successfully smuggle a copy of Tyndale’s New Testament into the hands of the king’s wife, Queen Anne, perhaps she can persuade him to spare Tyndale’s life.

If Sarah’s desperate mission fails, her family is in peril of their lives.
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Will she have the courage to go through with it? Can Tyndale’s life be spared?

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Opening Lines:

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
Netherlands, 1543
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Adriaen Wens was frightened-for his own life and for his mother’s. In 1543, many Christians in northeastern Europe were suffering cruel persecution, even execution, for following the beliefs of Menno Simons, the leader of a group called the Anabaptists. When Adriaen’s mother was arrested, he had to flee during the night with Menno, knowing that to stay in the city would mean his own arrest.

Soon after, Adriaen discovered there was a reward of a hundred gold pieces for the capture of Menno Simons. With so much gold, Adriaen could free his mother and rescue his family from the city! But could he turn in the underground church leader, even if it meant the man’s execution?
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If Adriaen betrays the leader, his family will go free!

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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
American Colonies (United States), 1620-1623
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Tilley and her family have been waiting for this day for months—the day the Mayflower sets sail from England. The late start means uncertain weather and a long, hard journey for everyone. But the trip seems especially rough for Dorothy Bradford, the frail young wife of William Bradford. One night, Elizabeth discovers Dorothy alone on deck. Thinking the woman wants to be alone, Elizabeth returns to bed. But the next morning, she awakes to the news that Dorothy has disappeared! Afraid that William Brafford will blame her for his wife’s death, Elizabeth tells no one what she saw that night.

When they finally arrive in the New World, many passengers become very ill. Several of them die before the new colony is established, including Elizabeth’s parents. Left an orphan, Elizabeth must deal with her terrible secret alone. How can she ever face Governor Brafford again? If she dares to tell the truth, will it ruin her chance for happiness in the new colony?
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Alone in the New World, Elizabeth guards a shocking secret. . . .

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Opening Lines:

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
 England, 1660
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Twelve-year-old Richard Winslow learns firsthand just how dangerous London of 1660 can be when his father is arrested for treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Worried about the rest of the family’s safety, Richard’s mother and sisters escape to Scotland, but young Richard decides to stay behind. What if his father needs him? Remaining in London is too risky, so Richard sets off for the nearby town of Bedford, where his uncle is the jailkeeper.

While working for his uncle in the jail, Richard makes an unexpected friend—a prisoner named John Bunyan. Bunyan never misses a chance to preach the Gospel, even though it could result in death at the stake. Richard wants to help this brave man but is afraid of what might happen to him—and his father—if he does. Will Richard betray John Bunyan to get his father out of prison?
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Richard wants his father’s freedom, but is he willing to pay the terrible price?

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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
American Colonies (United States), 1699-1700
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​After weeks of waiting, thirteen-year-old Theodore Story finally spots the billowing sails of the Canterbury, the ship returning Governor William Penn, a close friend of Theo’s family, to Philadelphia. During the governor’s fifteen-year absence, such wild pirates as Captain Kidd have corrupted the “city of brotherly love.” Maybe now things will get back to normal, Theo silently hopes. Shortly after the governor settles in, however, Theo’s grandfather dies, and Theo, his mother, and his sister set sail for England. When several members of their ship’s crew contract yellow fever, the family desperately hails a passing vessel and transfers over.
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But something’s not right about this new ship and its ragtag crew. As the cabin door clicks shut behind him, Theo notices it locks from the outside. They are being held hostage by pirates! Theo vows to save his mother and sister, but with escape almost impossible, how can he outsmart the bandits and get word to Governor Penn?

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Opening Lines:

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
 England, 1742
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​Ned Carter, an eighteenth-century boy of thirteen, has been working in the dangerous coal mines in northern England since he was five. He desperately wants to save his little brother Pip from the same fate. Like so many poor English families of the day, even the young children of the Carter family must earn money to pay the bills. Now Pip is turning five and Ned must find a way to prevent his parents from sending Pip into the coal mines.

But when Ned has an accident, Pip’s fate seems sealed—without Ned’s income, his father is sure to act. But instead of the mines, little Pip is "sold" to be trained as a chimney sweep. Before Ned can intervene, Pip has vanished—forever!

Despite his injury, Ned determines he must find Pip and try to buy him back. But where has Pip been taken and how can Ned ever earn the ransom money without his father knowing it? What might the preacher, John Wesley, do on Pip’s behalf?
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Was no one there to care or to help?

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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
American Colonies (United States), 1772
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​When white settlers force a group of Moravian Indians to abandon their thriving Pennsylvania town in 1772, thirteen-year-old Joseph Shabosh and his crippled friend David Heckstein leave with them. As unalike as the two boys are, both long for their lives to be different: Joseph dreams of a warrior’s life of adventure, and David of being less of a burden on his mother.

But the peaceful Moravians are not alone as they make their way west. Shadowy figures are spotted slipping among the trees along the trail—Mohegan warriors! A meeting with a proud, strong warrior during a hunt leaves Joseph more certain than ever that he wants to be a warrior, but young David is sure no good can come of spending time with the sly Mohegan. Should Joseph believe the warrior lie has befriended against his father’s will, or trust in the words of David and the Moravian missionary who leads them?
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The two friends are about to face the biggest obstacles of their lives!

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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
 England, 1775
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Thirteen-year-old slave Hamilton Jones seizes his freedom when his cruel master dies on a trip to England in 1775. Driven by a desire for revenge after years of mistreatment, the boy hunts down former slave trader John Newton—the man responsible for bringing Hamilton’s mother to the United States. Hamilton wants only one thing: to make the man pay with his life for his evil crime!

But the John Newton that Hamilton meets is nothing like the horrible person he imagined. Instead of reacting with fear when threatened with death, the little man seems calm and unafraid. Newton even agrees he deserves to die—and claims to be something worse than a slave trader! Astonished, Hamilton stays to listen to the preacher’s story. What could be worse than being a slave trader?
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Hamilton sees his chance for revenge . . . but will he go thorough with it?

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For more Trailblazers, check out these additional years:
Years 1800-1859
Years 1860-1900
Years 1900-1995