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 from 1860to the early 1900s, and it features historical people such as George Mueller, D. L. Moody, and George Washington Carver.

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:

Hugging the round sides of the big bay with his knees, Danny Sims leaned back slightly to keep his seat as the horse picked its way down the trail to the river below. Maybe he should have put on the saddle today...but the fourteen-year-old loved the feel of the bay's muscles moving smoothly beneath his legs, with only the reins and a handful of coarse black mane to keep him topside. 

Caught in the Rebel Camp: Frederick Douglass
United States, 1862-1863
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​The Civil War has just begun, and the controversy between the North and the South continues to heat up. Everybody seems to be getting into the action—except for Danny Sims. Danny wants nothing more than to fight with the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, Frederick Douglass’s newly formed black regiment. But his young age and a lane foot keep Danny from enlisting. The boy feels good for nothing until Frederick Douglass recommends Danny as the caretaker of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s horses. Danny knows the importance of this task, and he’s confident he will do an excellent job.

But when the colonel’s own horse escapes one night, Danny goes after him, only to find himself inside the Confederate soldiers’ fort. In terror, he remembers the Fifty-Fourth’s plans of immediate attack—what if the battle begins while he is inside? When Danny sees that the Confederates are making their own plans for the attack, Danny realizes that the Union soldiers are being set up for a trap! Can Danny escape in time to warn his troops?

A CRIPPLED BOY HAS NO PLACE IN THE WAR . . . DOES HE?

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Opening Lines:

The few cents Kevin Gilmore earned picking up chips and throwing them into the bin at the end of the ferry dock wouldn't buy him a sweet cake. he had to take the money home to help his mother pay their rent. 

​He removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. If only he could get a real job hauling firewood for the paddle-wheel steamer, he could make a difference. But the older boys got those jobs.

Sinking the Dayspring: John G. Paton
South Pacific, 1865-1868
by Dave & Neta Jackson

Working at the docks is a dangerous occupation--especially for someone who doesn't know how to swim. But it's all Kevin Gilmore can do to keep himself and his ailing mother afloat. When Kevin is suddenly fired one day, their lives are dealt a terrible blow. The next thing he knows, his mother is dead, and he's on his own. All Kevin has of value are the one hundred shares he and his mother bought from a missionary raising money to build a ship called the Dayspring. The new ship will bring supplies to missionaries living on the islands of the South Sea.

When he hears that the very same missionary, John Paton, is in Australia again and ready to launch the Dayspring, Kevin goes to him to cash in his shares, but instead ends up traveling with the missionary on the boat's first trip to the islands. Will the infamous pirate ships that trade rum for goods capture them before the Dayspring is able to reach the island people?

IT'S SINK OR SWIM FOR THE BOY WHOSE FEAR IS WATER. . . .

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Opening Lines:

Curly Roddy yanked open the door to the bell tower of St. George's Church and slipped into the pitch dark staircase. The sexton was not liely to look for him here, he hoped. He held his breath and listened for the sound of footsteps.

​That morning, the homeless orphan boy had hurried to church early hoping to find someone to pickpocket. Curly was not a mean kid, just hungry and in need of money for food. 

The Bandit of Ashley Downs: George Muller
England, 1870s
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​By the time Curly Roddy was twelve years old, he’d already survived six years as a homeless orphan on the cruel streets of London in the 1870s. He slept in dustbins and ate orange peels when he could find them. Sometimes he earned a few coins by singing and doing acrobatics in pubs. He had perfected his skills at snatching purses and picking pockets.

But when Curly overheard that a church was raising £3,000 for an orphan house in Bristol, his scheme of an armed robbery promised to bring him enough money for a lifetime. Enlisting the help of a local thug and thief, Spud Baxter, a plan is soon put into place. With Spud’s pistol and brute force, the church’s treasure should easily be taken.

But the highway robbery brings Curly more trouble than he had bargained for. Is it scarier to be sent to the orphanage from which he stole the money than to be sent to prison? Will George Müller, the man in charge of the orphanage, make Curly into a slave to earn back at least a portion of the money? Or might they do something even worse?
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Curly’s in for the biggest surprise of his young life!

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Opening Lines:

The great hound nosed its way through the dense, sour fog that swirled in the narrow alleys of London's east side. Somewhere ahead it smelled human, maybe still alive or maybe food in the gutter. It was hungry enough to eat anything. 

A growl rumbled deep in its throat as it rounded the corner and surveyed the cobblestone street ahead. Its huge head hung low to the ground, a torn lip reveal a sharp fang.

Kidnapped by River Rats: William & Catherine Booth
England, 1880s
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​It is sometime during the 1880s, and Jack and Amy have come to London searching for their uncle. On their own without money, food, or shelter, they have nowhere else to turn. But what is the chance of finding him when they don’t even know where he lives?

For the two youngsters, attempting to live on the streets is frightening, dangerous, and an opportunity for the worst elements of the city to take advantage of them. London society has become uncaring, even cruel, to the needy. Where can they find safety?

When those strange Salvation Army people approach them on the street, should Jack and Amy run away? Can the General and Catherine Booth be trusted?
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What hope do Jack and Amy have when ruthless men come after them?

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Opening Lines:

Pressing her body against a twisted mangrove tree, Imatu peered around the trunk. There. She could see the goat a short distance away, flicking its tail and munching the grass along the riverbank. 

I'll catch you now, Imatu thought grimly. 

Trial by Poison: Mary Slessor
Western Africa, 1883-1892
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Imatu had seen white people in her village in West Africa, but only when they came to sell liquor, guns, and slave chains. One rainy day, Imatu was sent to find a goat that had run away from the village. But when she found instead a brightly colored regal canoe with a white woman inside and five black children, Imatu quickly forgot about the goat!

The woman, Mary Slessor, had come to Imatu’s village to set up a school and teach them about a God who loves them, who wouldn’t demand cruel rituals like Imatu’s" tribal religion. But when Imatu’s mother is taken prisoner and condemned to drink the deadly poison bean, would Mary Slessor’s respect in the village prove enough to save her?

Imatu was frantic with fear! Who will rescue her mother from the poison bean?

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Opening Lines:

Fourteen-year-old Jova gathered with the other Kru people in the village square in front of the king's great house. He lifted first one barefoot and then the other to get relief from the burning heat of the packed earth. It was a particularly hot day, and the silvery sun high overhead drew beads of sweat fro his dark forehead. 

Quest for the Lost Prince: Samuel Morris
Africa/United States, 1892-1903
by Dave & Neta Jackson

When the dying Kru king offers a ransom for his missing son, fourteen-year-old Jova determines to find Prince Kaboo, no matter what the danger. Without a prince to take the old king’s place, his people will almost surely be defeated by their long-time enemies, the Grebos! And as a former captive of the cruel Grebos, there is nothing Jova fears more.

But Jova has a secret advantage over the other young warriors who set out on the dangerous quest—he knows where to look for the missing prince! Only Jova followed Prince Kaboo when he miraculously escaped the Grebo village where they both were held. And only Jova knows the prince traveled to the dreaded "white man’s city"— a place filled with people so strange-looking Jova was too fearful to enter. Now his search must take him right to that terrible place. What will he find when he arrives?
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For six long years, Jova has kept the secret. . . .

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Opening Lines:

Casey Watkins jammed his cold hands into the pockets of his thin jacket, hunched his back against the biting February wind, and angrily aimed a kick at a tin can that lay in his path. "I hate Philadelphia!" he growled to himself as the can bounced loudly off the brick wall of a factory. 

Danger on the Flying Trapeze: Dwight L. Moody
United States, 1893
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​Fourteen-year-old Casey Watkins wants nothing more than to escape his family’s dreary, bare-bones life in the Philadelphia of 1893. When he learns of an opening in Adam Forepaugh’s Circus, it seems like the perfect escape, and he convinces his mother and sister to join with him. Then "The Flying Eugenes," a family of trapeze artists, offer Casey a role in their death-defying act, and he is elated. Flying on the trapeze is more exciting than he ever dreamed!

The pressure is on--Casey has only a few weeks to learn the act before the circus arrives in Chicago in time for the famous World’s Fair. Once in Chicago, the boy is fascinated by D. L. Moody, the dynamic evangelist who preaches to standing-room-only crowds in the circus Big Top Sunday mornings. Casey never imagined that church could be more popular than the circus! But then a dangerous accident leaves him paralyzed with fear, and he runs to Moody looking for a way out. Will the evangelist be able to help him?

The circus is counting on him . . . what if he falls?

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Opening Lines:

Waiting in line while all the other boys went into the little room to be interviewed by Dr. Sheldon Jackson had been like waiting for ice on the Yukon River to break up in the spring. But it had been Adam's choice to slip to the back of the line and let the other thirteen boys go first. If I'm the last one Dr. Jackson speaks to, thought Adam, he'll remember me best.

The Gold Miners' Rescue: Sheldon Jackson
Alaska (United States), 1897-1898
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​As Adam Christian graduates from the famous Sitka Industrial and Training School, he dreams of one day becoming famous—like Dr. Sheldon Jackson, who started the school. The last thing Adam wants to do is return to his dull life in northern Alaska, so lie asks Dr. Jackson if he can join him on his 1897 expedition to the Yukon to rescue hundreds of starving gold miners. Surprisingly, Dr. Jackson agrees, and eager to say good-bye to his home and his people, Adam sets off on what he hopes will be the adventure of a lifetime.

But the excitement and fame Adam seeks soon are swallowed up in trials that not even the hardy young boy is prepared to face. Disaster seems to strike at every turn when they try to bring a herd of reindeer from Norway all the way to the Yukon in an effort to help the troubled miners. Will they reach the men before it’s too late?
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Help is on the way, but will it be on time?

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Opening Lines:

The town of Acorn popped into view as the big, leggy mule rounded a stand of scrub pines and wild briar, pulling the farm wagon behind him. Sitting beside his father on the driver's seat and lightly holding the mule's reins, Jesse Turner squinted ahead and groanded silently. 

The Forty-Acre Swindle: George Washington Carver
United States, 1898-1904
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​To fourteen-year-old Jesse Turner, being “free” in Alabama in 1898 doesn’t seem much better than slavery. The Turners’ forty-acre farm—given to them by the government following the Civil War—is exhausted from growing cotton, they face overwhelming debt, and trouble from prejudiced neighbors makes life difficult and frightening. It seems the only solution is to sell the land and begin sharecropping. But they find new hope in the teachings of George Washington Carver, a Christian agriculturist who travels the South helping fellow blacks with new farming techniques. Inspired by Carver’s advice to “hang on to the land at all costs,” Jesse takes a part-time job, and he and his father plant a promising crop of soybeans.
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But as the Turners race to meet the deadline for repaying their debts, they run into a host of new problems. And when the levee suspiciously bursts one night and floods their land, can Jesse find a way to save the family farm?

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Opening Lines:

Sparks sprang into the violet sky, chased by flames that erupted when Kyemap dropped an armload of sticks on his small fire. He whirled around and stared toward the bushes that surrounded his small clearing. What had screamed? Was it the harmless paca rodent with its bloodcurdling cry...or was it a ghost?

Ambushed in Jaguar Swamp: Barbrooke Grubb
Paraguay, 1899-1900
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​ “Someday, foreigners will come who will reveal the mysteries of the spirit world.” It seems clear to fourteen-year-old Kyemap that this ancient Lengua prophecy is fulfilled by Barbrooke Grubb. Kyemap wants to accept the missionary’s teachings. But he fears the powerful witch doctors whose superstitious murders threaten the tribe’s very survival. Kyemap’s older cousin Poit takes an interest in the Englishman, too, offering to help him reach other Paraguayan tribes. But Kyemap knows his cousin only too well and suspects Poit is up to no good.
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Then Grubb takes a trip home, and Poit agrees to watch his herd of cattle. But Poit soon becomes impatient, butchering some cattle and holding feasts to impress tribal leaders. When Grubb returns and asks to see the herd, Poit leads him deep into the treacherous Jaguar Swamp. Kyemap fears the worst. Must he betray his cousin to protect the man whose message could save the Lengua people?

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Opening Lines:

Mollie Jones tapped her toe impatiently behind the counter of Jones's Emporium as a woman in a gray pinstripe tailored dress and flat-brimmed straw hat fingered the bolt of pink chambray cloth. Couldn't Mrs. Meriweather make up her mind? 

Drawn by a China Moon: Lottie Moon
United States & China, 1893-1901
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Dear Mollie, You can’t believe what is happening here in China. . . . Actually, what Mollie can’t believe is that her best friend, Ida, and her family left Virginia to live in a “heathen” country. What about marrying handsome Southern husbands? Going to women’s college together? However, Mollie’s frustration slowly turns to fascination as Ida’s letters describe her exciting life among the Chinese—sea worms for supper, wearing men’s pants, Chinese New Year, and helping with the amazing missionary work of Lottie Moon.

But as the years go by, China endures war, disease, and rebellion, and Molly becomes more and more worried about Ida. Realizing that each letter she receives could be the last, Mollie wants to help her beloved pen pal. But how . . . and at what price?

HELPING HER FRIEND MEANS CHANGING HER LIFE . . . FOREVER.

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For more Trailblazers, check out these additional years:
Years 1500-1800
Years 1800-1859
Years 1900-1995