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 1900-1995 and features historical people such as Nate Saint, Amy Carmichael, and Gladys Aylward. 

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:

He was falling, falling, falling amid dirt and sticks and dried leaves. Down, down, his arms flailing, like swimming down into the dark. Then--whapI His shoulder hit a stone sticking out form the wall. He tumbled forward to crash headlong into the dust of the cave's floor. 

Chou Fu-lin awoke from his dream, panting heavily. The smell was still there, like something rotten and soaked in urine. Fear gripped him. It was not just falling down into the cave; something much worse was about to happen. He could sense it.

Mask of the Wolf Boy: Jonathan & Rosalind Goforth
China, 1900
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​In the Chinese city of Changte, Chou Fu-lin is known simply as "Wolf Boy." Plagued by recurring nightmares of a childhood accident, Fu-lin hides more than his face behind his carefully tied bandana. Still, he enjoys his job as a house servant for Canadian missionaries Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth, and has recently become a Christian himself, joining their growing church.

The Wolf Boy’s faith is soon put to the test with the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The Goforths are forced to flee the country, and Fu-lin gladly goes with them. But as the refugee Christians are greeted with ever louder and more violent protests, Fu-lin is sorely tempted to hide his faith and disappear into the crowd. Will Chou Fu-Iin have the courage to face his greatest fears and finally expose the truth?
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Who will be revealed when the Wolf Boy removes his mask?

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Opening Lines:

Celeste stamped a brown bare foot and tightened her grip on her jumping rope. "Why can't I go out to play?" she demanded crossly. "I took care of Button all mornin' for Mama. You're just mean, Papa, that's what!" 

Defeat of the Ghost Riders: Mary McLeod Bethune
United States, 1904-1920
by Dave & Neta Jackson

Eight-year-old Celeste Key is a mischievous girl who often gets herself into trouble. When her father’s blacksmith shop is burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan in 1904, the family decides they must leave town before someone gets killed. They move to Florida, where a woman named Mary McLeod Bethune offers them schooling for their children. Mary has started a school for black children—one of the first in the United States.

Celeste is sent to Mary’s school against her will but soon finds herself enjoying what she’s learning. Everything seems to be going well—until men with white hoods over their heads burn a cross on the school property. Celeste is terrified of the Klan because of what happened in Georgia, yet Mary is a stubborn woman who refuses to let them intimidate her. Celeste wants to believe the Klan can be defeated, but will their threats turn into burning more than crosses?

Freedom in a new state, but will it come with a price?

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Opening Lines:

For as long as I can remember, my mama used to say, "Gerald Fredrick Newman, if'n you don't straighten up, I'm gonna ship you off to the end of the earth." Well, I guess she's finally gone and done it. She put me on the train this very morning--April 3, 1906, a real red-letter day as far as I'm concerned. I'm on my way to Los Angeles, California, right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean--nearly the end of the earth to her. But if you ask me...well, I never let on what I really thought of going to California to stay with my uncle Thomas. 

Journey to the End of the Earth: William Seymour
United States, 1906
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Jerry Newman doesn’t mean to keep getting into trouble—it just sort of happens. But when a practical joke goes wrong, burning down a church in his small east Texas town, Jerry’s widowed mother quickly sends him to live with his journalist uncle in Los Angeles. Jerry is secretly pleased—not only to avoid being punished for his crime but also to live in California . . . the end of the earth!
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On the night before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Jerry and his uncle go to investigate a popular warehouse church in Los Angeles. There, they hear a man predict the coming quake. But Jerry is even more impressed by the powerful preacher, William Seymour, and by the hundreds of blacks and whites worshiping and praying together in strange “tongues.” Jerry wants to believe Seymour’s message, but will he do so when it means confessing his dangerous secret?
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A SIMPLE MESSAGE THAT SHAKES THE WORLD . . .

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Opening Lines:

The Indian servant went first, loaded down with an assortment of baggage. Fourteen-year-old John Knight followed followed him out of the station, then stared at the strange train puffing at the edge of the platform. "Father!" he called back over his shoulder. "What kind of a train is this? It's so small--almost like a miniature train. And look!" John pointed. "The engine's on backward!"

The Hidden Jewel: Amy Carmichael
India, 1909
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​From the moment he and his mother arrived from England, everything about India shouted adventure to fourteen-year-old John Knight. Crowds of people swarmed in the streets, temple elephants paraded about, monkeys scolded at passers-by—this was easily the most exciting place John had ever been. If only his father, a British government official sent to south India in 1909, will allow him to explore it.

But John and his mother are not prepared for what they discover when they befriend an Irish missionary named Amy Carmichael. With a heart for justice, John is shocked to learn that a young Indian girl rescued by Carmichael is a "child bride" being legally forced by her wicked uncle to marry an elderly man! Is it possible that John’s father might be called upon to uphold this horrible law?
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What will happen if John does not act? Who will save Jewel? Will all the fears mirrored in Jewel’s eyes come to pass?

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Opening Lines:

Mei-en clung desperately to her stepfather's back as he clambered over the rocky path leading to the next town. If she let go, she might tumble down the mountainside and land on the jagged rocks far below. 

But that worry was like a tiny millet seed compared to the big lump of fear growing inside the six-year-old's stomach. Where was her stepfather taking her? Why was he so angry?

Flight of the Fugitives: Gladys Aylward
China, 1934-1940
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Six-year-old Mei-en screamed in terror when she realized her gypsy owner was about to sell her to a foreign lady. Times were hard in the mountainous region of China in 1934, and orphans were often sold for pennies. But foreigners in China were considered "devils," and Mei-en thought surely the little woman in Chinese clothes would eat her for supper! But this time Mei-en’s new owner was the compassionate and respected missionary, Gladys Aylward.

One day outside her new home, Mei-en saw wonderful silver "birds" flying in the sky—but her delight turned to dread when they began dropping bombs that exploded all over the city. Suddenly their lives, and those of nearly a hundred orphan children, were in terrible danger!
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With the enemy in hot pursuit, their only escape is over the mountains!

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Opening Lines:

An overloaded donkey heaved an annoyed eee-aww! eee-aww! in the narrow cobblestone street below the second-floor window, waking Jamal from his dreams. But as soon as the boy popped his eyes open, he heard the familiar call of the muezzin from the tall minaret of the mosque in the square: "Allah is great! There is no God but Allah!"

Risking the Forbidden Game: Maude Cary
Morocco, 1925-1928
by Dave & Neta Jackson

For Jamal and Hameem, The Game starts out as a fun and daring contest between the two young boys to see who can collect more items belonging to the "enemy"--the French soldiers who are keeping Morocco from gaining its independence. For a Muslim to be seen with anything belonging to the infidels is among the most punishable of sins, but the excitement of The Game calls to the adventurous boys, who even risk swiping belongings right off of the French soldiers. 

The Game becomes more risky when Jamal begins collecting pictures from the Christian missionary Maude Cary, whom he meets in the marketplace, Surely a whole set of the pictures must be worth enough points to win The Game! Then Jamal realizes that each picture tells a story bout Jesus, and he's torn between believing the missionary's stories and believing the Muslim way. When a French traitor comes to Jamal for help, will he lead Jamal to the Truth?

IS BECOMING A CHRISTIAN WORTH LOSING HIS FAMILY?​

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Opening Lines:

Four-year-old Alastair clung tightly to his daddy's broad shoulders as Sandy Sutherland scrambled up the steep footpath. "Hang on laddie," said his father. "We're almost to the clearing." 

Alastair looked back and saw his mother struggling up the rocky path behind them, carrying two-year-old Heather on her hip.

"Will Bertie be there?" asked Alastair, ducking his head to avoid some big ferns along the path.

​His father hesitated just a moment before saying softly, "By God's guid graces, aye, laddie."

Race for the Record: Joy Ridderhof
Philippines, 1942-1950
by Dave & Neta Jackson

No written language. That’s the problem facing eleven-year­old Alastair Sutherland’s missionary parents in the Philippine Islands in 1949. How can they leave the Palawanos tribe a copy of the Gospel in their own language if it can’t be written down? Then they read about Joy Ridderhof, a missionary who, with her portable recording machine, makes records of the Gospel message in tribal languages. Alastair is pleased when she agrees to come to their town, especially since his good Palawanos friend, Lastani, is chosen to translate. He also secretly hopes that Miss Ridderhof will accompany him on the ship to Manila so he can start boarding school with other English-speaking kids.
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But monsoons, malaria, and a temperamental tape machine interfere with Alastair’s plans and set off a whirlwind adventure. With Miss Ridderhof about to leave and the record still not made, can Alastair and Lastani find a way?

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Opening Lines:

The sudden silence made Niwa look up into the tall balsa trees. The brightly colored parrots had stopped squawking at each other. The howler monkeys weren't screeching. "Shh!" he whispered to Dabu and Moipa and the other two boys from his village who had come on the fishing expedition. "Someone's coming." 

The Fate of the Yellow Woodbee: Nate Saint
Ecuador, 1956
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​Eleven-year-old Niwa is from Ecuador’s Huaorani tribe, better known as the Auca tribe, which is known for killing outsiders. The Aucas trust no one, not even neighboring tribes, so when young Niwa is outlawed by his own people for angering another tribe, not even his family will protect him.

Then a huge "woodbee" flies overhead, dropping gifts to Niwa’s tribe from pilot Nate Saint and the other members of a missions team hoping to share the Gospel with them. Alone and afraid, Niwa is excited by the prospect of outsiders who want to help him. He even wants to make friends with the mysterious strangers and convince his tribe that the people in the strange woodbee will not harm them. But when someone else from the tribe lies about the five men wanting to attack them, the whole village wants them dead—except for Niwa. Will he get there in time to stop the killing.
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In a tribe of killers, one boy longs for peace. . . .

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Opening Lines:

Yacobo Kabaza pushed his way through the crowd that was slowly winding its way like a lazy snake through the streets of Kabale. The fourteen-year-old looked this way and that in growing frustration. It was just like his little brother to disappear in the middle of the Good Friday parade! Always goofing off--even on a solemn occasion like today! And where was he supposed to look for him? Yacobo didn't know whether ten-year-old Blasio had dropped back to be with some of his friends or had run ahead.  

Assassins in the Cathedral: Festo Kivengere
Uganda, 1976-1979
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​​With the help of Uganda’s famous evangelist Festo Kivengere, Yacobo Kabaza and his family move to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where Yacobo’s father will be the new driver for Archbishop Luwum. As part of the cathedral’s upcoming Centennial celebration, the archbishop asks Yacobo, an aspiring author, to write a play about the legendary three boys who became Uganda’s first Christian martyrs. The young teenager is thrilled.

However, the growing reign of terror of General Idi Amin and his "Special Forces," who falsely suspect the church of helping the rebels, overshadows Yacobo’s excitement. When the archbishop doesn’t return from a meeting with Amin, officials claim he died in a "car accident." Kivengere is forced to flee the country. But the church bravely goes on with preparations for the Centennial, and Yacobo’s play begins rehearsals, with his brother, Blasio, playing the youngest martyr. As the Special Forces circle closer, and the legend of the martyrs becomes alarmingly real, will Yacobo have the strength to survive?
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Faced with death, their weapon is love.

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Opening Lines:

The music drifting from the small adobe church reminded fourteen-year-old Alfredo of happier days, days high in the Andes Mountains, where he sat alone and played his flute while the wind howled among the rocky peaks. 

Absentmindedly he reached for the flute he had carried so long in his pocket, only to find the cold iron of a pistol.

Blinded by the Shining Path: Romulo Saune
Peru, 1992
by Dave & Neta Jackson

​Bandits are a regular threat to the small Peruvian village Alfredo Garcia lives in. Government protection is scarce and the police never enforce the law. So the village men take it upon themselves to defend their village, but return unsuccessful when Alfredo's father is killed. Rico, Alfredo's brother, joins the Communist Shining Path guerrillas hoping to avenge their father's death. But the terrorists prove to be more dangerous than the bandits they promised to protect the villagers from, and it's not long before they begin killing followers of Jesus Christ, too.

When Alfredo also becomes involved with the guerrillas, he is forced to prove his loyalty or be considered a deserter and risk death. His orders are to kill the evangelist, Pastor Rómulo Sauñe, but when his mission fails, Alfredo begins asking harder questions.

CAN SOMETHING GOOD COME FROM SOMETHING SO BAD?

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