Flight of the Fugitives: Gladys Aylward

Trailblazer Books (Chronological) #35

by Dave Jackson, Neta Jackson

After coming to China as a missionary, Gladys Aylward adopts several orphans and tries to save more during the war between China and Japan

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian, Childrens, Christian Fiction, Fiction, China, Juvenile

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Dave and Neta Jackson are a full-time husband/wife writing team who have authored and co-authored many books on marriage and family, the church, relationships, and other subjects. Their books for children include the TRAILBLAZER series and Hero Tales, volumes I,II, III, and IV. The Jacksons make their home in Evanston, Illinois.

Reviews

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good retelling of Gladys Aylward's story. I've enjoyed this series since my early years as a reader, and although I've aged out of it now, it's still worthwhile for children to read.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have fond memories of my mom reading these books to us over lunch. And we’d beg her to keep going when lunch was over too, because we just had to know what happened! Well told, engaging, adventuresome and you learn about a famous Christian in history.

Ages: 7+

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[iibook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch war schrecklich und schön zugleich.
Es geht um eine annähernd wahre Geschichte über eine Frau, die sich ganz nach ihren christlichen Glaubenssätzen um alle kümmerte, die in Not waren. In ihrem Fall waren es über 100 Waisenkinder.
Die Geschichte enthält wahre, sowie fiktionale Elemente. Doch alles ist so authentisch und real geschrieben, dass nicht erkennbar ist, welche Teile nur ausgedacht sind. Es wird gezeigt, wie hoffnungsvoll und Hoffnung spendend Glaube sein kann, aber auch, wie grausam Krieg ist.
Das Buch ist wirklich erschreckend (und) gut geschrieben. Obwohl es mir damals in der 6.Klasse schon in der Schule vorgelesen wurde, würde ich es niemals Kinder lesen lassen. Meiner Meinung nach ist es für (junge und ältere) Erwachsene.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be great read aloud for ages 9 and up, or if you edit a few things out, for ages 4 and up. The beginning was a bit intense and might be scary for some children, as an orphaned girl is rejected and sold to a beggar woman. But then the girl is adopted by a Christian into a loving home, cared for, and has many adventures. I think the many funny parts of this story will especially appeal to children.

[Becca Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little historical fiction narrative on the life of one of the children adopted by Gladys Aylward. I read this book as a tween and enjoyed reading it aloud to my 3rd grader. We're definitely following this up with the movie "Inn of Sixth Happiness" and will most likely continue on with more in the series.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read aloud. As an adoptive mom, I'm pretty aware of some of the triggers for loss and adoption and this one has some. Mainly constantly referring to Gladys as "adoptive mom". Since the children's other parents weren't part of the story, this was unnecessary. I edited as I read aloud to my children.

Great story to build faith and boldness in Jesus. Both kids loved it.

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing page-turning story. I found myself reading this for hours, as it was just so hard to put down. Gladys Aylward’s story was told in a very good way, while not completely accurate, it gets the point across. She is a true Christian hero!

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring story of Gladys Aylward from the perspective of the child she adopted, while being a missionary to the Chinese.
Made me want to know more about her.

[Grace Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assigned to read this whole series in middle school, and I learned a lot. Great educational read!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! The story was enjoyable for both the kids and me. So awe inspiring!

[Katrina Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

formational childhood read

[Lianxin Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Inn of Eight Happinesses, a hundred Chinese orphans, Gladys Aylward.

These aren't the keywords in Google search bar, it is a 4 feet 10 inch little woman's life. She is just an ordinary missionary, but her experiences are legendary. Although her body is petite, but her presentation of great courage and strong willpower molds a giant.

Ordinary like me, it is hard to build a solid faith in my heart. Because I know that faith requires strong willpower to support, and relentless practice.

Aylward's story taught me to be fearless when in danger, be tenacious in face of difficult, use flat to spy temptation, hold a in awe to be near to faith. I recommend this book to everyone, Aylward is the model of humanity, learn it.

[Keys2k · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely enlightening book! Yes, it was written for younger children. But I still found it very good. It told a lot more about Gladys Aylward than most of the history books I've read on her have... the action was there, Mei-en was a very intruiging character, and I loved Yang's mixed-up Bible stories! A good read for any age.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that I read for class in second grade. Love the story of Gladys Aylward! An easy read kids' book. Fiction, but based on the true story of Gladys' time in China.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for children - gr 5 reading level - a quick overview without too much violence.

[LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the facts have been rearranged to make an enjoyable story for children, this book introduces readers to missionary Gladys Aylward. There is a 6-page biography at the end.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another favorite Trailblazer book. I must have read this a dozen times as a kid. I was just fascinated with Aylward's trek.

[Britt-goodie of newsieness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. I re-read it a lot. I thought it was good.

[M-girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because I like reading about missionaries.