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Lightkeepers
Ten Boys Who Made a Difference
Would you like to make a difference? These ten boys grew up to do just that – but first they had to change the church. How did God change them? Augustine discovered the love of God and changed the way we think; Knox focused on God’s word and told his country the truth; Luther rediscovered God’s truth and gave it to ordinary people; Calvin realised that salvation was a gift from God and not a reward for what he did; Tyndale longed to print the Bible in a language that everyone would understand; Latimer urged people to read the Bible for themselves and made enemies as a result; Hus taught that God is in charge of the church and the world; Zwingli challenged people to obey God’s word in every area of their lives; Chalmers called the church to show Christ’s compassion to the poor and Shaftesbury pushed the church into making Christ’s love a living reality for everyone
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
22 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Irene Howat
92 books34 followersIrene Howat is an award-winning author who has many titles, for adults and children, to her name. She is married to a retired minister and they have a grown up family. She is also a talented artist and now stays in Ayrshire, Scotland. She especially enjoys letters from children and replies to all of them!
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 31, 2022
This is the final boys' book in the series of ten (five involving boys and five involving girls). I went into the series really liking the format, layout, and subject material. The ending, while kind of focusing on one theme is still a valuable tool for young people to learn about our Church history.
In this volume, ten boys which include Augustine of Hippo, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, John Calvin, John Knox, Lord Shaftesbury, and Thomas Chalmers follow a similar story pattern of about 15 pages each. The sections starts off with a childhood and family setting and move to either some early important events or through to teenage and college-age and then into adulthood of what they're known for. The stories include mostly fictional conversations so as to give young readers more than just facts to remember. The conversation are in the spirit of learning about the person. Each person also has a focus on their Christian faith and it usually inspires the conclusion of the story as a way to glorify God. At the end there is a "FACT" of the story expanded upon, a "KEYNOTE" that focuses on the aspect of the story to think about God, a "THINK" area in which a challenge question is presented for discussion, and a "PRAYER" section.
What a collection of men to go out on! Some of the biggest Reformers over the period really risked a lot and really did make a difference in returning the Church back to its first love, the Gospel of grace. While eight of the boys covered focus on the Reformation and the breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church and a return to orthodoxy, it's odd that two other boys were different. Throughout the history of the Reformation and the different countries and flavors, there are many names to choose from. Yet, the two boys covered were quite interesting to learn about and lives showed the series as true to form. I always enjoyed when the subjects or difficulties the author covers in their childhood are brought out in the main part of their stories.
I would highly recommend this book and the series. The teaching of Church history is something that I've found has only strengthened and informed my faith. And having this format is perfect for young readers to start their journey into making a difference in Church history. Final Grade - A-
In this volume, ten boys which include Augustine of Hippo, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, John Calvin, John Knox, Lord Shaftesbury, and Thomas Chalmers follow a similar story pattern of about 15 pages each. The sections starts off with a childhood and family setting and move to either some early important events or through to teenage and college-age and then into adulthood of what they're known for. The stories include mostly fictional conversations so as to give young readers more than just facts to remember. The conversation are in the spirit of learning about the person. Each person also has a focus on their Christian faith and it usually inspires the conclusion of the story as a way to glorify God. At the end there is a "FACT" of the story expanded upon, a "KEYNOTE" that focuses on the aspect of the story to think about God, a "THINK" area in which a challenge question is presented for discussion, and a "PRAYER" section.
What a collection of men to go out on! Some of the biggest Reformers over the period really risked a lot and really did make a difference in returning the Church back to its first love, the Gospel of grace. While eight of the boys covered focus on the Reformation and the breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church and a return to orthodoxy, it's odd that two other boys were different. Throughout the history of the Reformation and the different countries and flavors, there are many names to choose from. Yet, the two boys covered were quite interesting to learn about and lives showed the series as true to form. I always enjoyed when the subjects or difficulties the author covers in their childhood are brought out in the main part of their stories.
I would highly recommend this book and the series. The teaching of Church history is something that I've found has only strengthened and informed my faith. And having this format is perfect for young readers to start their journey into making a difference in Church history. Final Grade - A-
April 30, 2024
Number of pages: around 150 pages per book
Genre: Non-fiction, Missionary Biographies
Series: I combined all reviews for this series into one. The books are: Ten Boys Who Changed the World, Ten Boys Who Used Their Talents, Ten Boys Who Made History, Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In, and Ten Boys Who Made a Difference.
Age recommendation: 6-12 *Note* Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In is about martyrs so it might be better for older elementary school children (maybe 10-12).
Summary: Each book gives a short biography of ten different Christian ‘boys’ who used their lives for God.
Ten Boys Who Changed the World: Brother Andrew; John Newton; Billy Graham; Eric Liddell; William Carey; David Livingstone; Nicky Cruz; Adoniram Judson; George Muller; and Luis Palau.
Ten Boys Who Used Their Talents: Wilfred Grenfell; C.S. Lewis; James Clerk Maxwell; Ghillean Prance; Paul Brand; Johann Sebastian Bach; Samuel Morse; George Washington Carver; C.T. Studd; and John Bunyan.
Ten Boys Who Made History: Samuel Rutherford; John Owen; Jonathan Edwards; George Whitefield; Robert Murray McCheyne; Dwight L. Moody; Billy Sunday; Charles H. Spurgeon; Aiden W. Tozer; and Martyn Lloyd–Jones.
Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In: Polycarp; Alban; Sir John Oldcastle; Thomas Cranmer; George Wishart; James Chalmers’ Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Nate Saint; Ivan Moiseyev; and Graham Staines.
Ten Boys Who Made a Difference: Augustine of Hippo; Jan Hus; Martin Luther; Ulrich Zwingli; William Tyndale; Hugh Latimer; John Calvin; John Knox; Lord Shaftesbury; and Thomas Chalmers
My thoughts: Since this whole series is pretty similar, I’m just going to review it as a whole. I did not like this series as much as the Ten Girls series, probably at least partly because the Ten Girls series is very nostalgic for me. I loved it in elementary school, but since I didn’t read the Ten Boys series until I was much older, I noticed a lot of things I’m not a fan of (which are probably similar in the Ten Girls series, but I don’t notice because I just remember how cool I thought they were when I was 8).
The books aren’t particularly well-written- at all. It’s fine for an elementary schooler (who it’s actually intended for), but the writing isn’t spectacular. Another thing I wasn’t particularly impressed with was the choice of people to write about. A lot of them are really famous preachers and stuff, so that makes sense, while the others were completely unfamiliar to me. That’s fine – in fact I kind of like that because it introduced me to good Christian examples I never would have known about otherwise. However, some of the people chosen just didn’t seem to fit exactly with the theme of the book, or I knew of other people who would be better to write about, and it frustrated me that they weren’t mentioned. (I don’t exactly remember which people I didn’t think fit, but I do remember thinking better choices could have been made).
All that being said, as an elementary schooler I wouldn’t notice these things. The books are all easy for younger children to read and understand, and at that age I would just think it was cool what all these people did for God.
My personal rating: 3/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Non-fiction, Missionary Biographies
Series: I combined all reviews for this series into one. The books are: Ten Boys Who Changed the World, Ten Boys Who Used Their Talents, Ten Boys Who Made History, Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In, and Ten Boys Who Made a Difference.
Age recommendation: 6-12 *Note* Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In is about martyrs so it might be better for older elementary school children (maybe 10-12).
Summary: Each book gives a short biography of ten different Christian ‘boys’ who used their lives for God.
Ten Boys Who Changed the World: Brother Andrew; John Newton; Billy Graham; Eric Liddell; William Carey; David Livingstone; Nicky Cruz; Adoniram Judson; George Muller; and Luis Palau.
Ten Boys Who Used Their Talents: Wilfred Grenfell; C.S. Lewis; James Clerk Maxwell; Ghillean Prance; Paul Brand; Johann Sebastian Bach; Samuel Morse; George Washington Carver; C.T. Studd; and John Bunyan.
Ten Boys Who Made History: Samuel Rutherford; John Owen; Jonathan Edwards; George Whitefield; Robert Murray McCheyne; Dwight L. Moody; Billy Sunday; Charles H. Spurgeon; Aiden W. Tozer; and Martyn Lloyd–Jones.
Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In: Polycarp; Alban; Sir John Oldcastle; Thomas Cranmer; George Wishart; James Chalmers’ Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Nate Saint; Ivan Moiseyev; and Graham Staines.
Ten Boys Who Made a Difference: Augustine of Hippo; Jan Hus; Martin Luther; Ulrich Zwingli; William Tyndale; Hugh Latimer; John Calvin; John Knox; Lord Shaftesbury; and Thomas Chalmers
My thoughts: Since this whole series is pretty similar, I’m just going to review it as a whole. I did not like this series as much as the Ten Girls series, probably at least partly because the Ten Girls series is very nostalgic for me. I loved it in elementary school, but since I didn’t read the Ten Boys series until I was much older, I noticed a lot of things I’m not a fan of (which are probably similar in the Ten Girls series, but I don’t notice because I just remember how cool I thought they were when I was 8).
The books aren’t particularly well-written- at all. It’s fine for an elementary schooler (who it’s actually intended for), but the writing isn’t spectacular. Another thing I wasn’t particularly impressed with was the choice of people to write about. A lot of them are really famous preachers and stuff, so that makes sense, while the others were completely unfamiliar to me. That’s fine – in fact I kind of like that because it introduced me to good Christian examples I never would have known about otherwise. However, some of the people chosen just didn’t seem to fit exactly with the theme of the book, or I knew of other people who would be better to write about, and it frustrated me that they weren’t mentioned. (I don’t exactly remember which people I didn’t think fit, but I do remember thinking better choices could have been made).
All that being said, as an elementary schooler I wouldn’t notice these things. The books are all easy for younger children to read and understand, and at that age I would just think it was cool what all these people did for God.
My personal rating: 3/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
March 1, 2020
Augustine, John Knox, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jan His, Hugh Latimer, Ulrich Zwingli, Ailliam Tyndall, Tomas Childers, Lord Shaftesbury.
Though you wonder if stories from the childhood days of these men are true, they do set up the reader for the changes that come in their lives and the transformations that come to the church through their solid growing faith and courage to do what is right, even at the risk of their lives.
The four brief sections at the end of each chapter - Fact File, Keynote, Think, and Prayer - serve to inform, challenge, personalize, and give a prayer focus.
A good read for grandsons (and granddaughters).
Though you wonder if stories from the childhood days of these men are true, they do set up the reader for the changes that come in their lives and the transformations that come to the church through their solid growing faith and courage to do what is right, even at the risk of their lives.
The four brief sections at the end of each chapter - Fact File, Keynote, Think, and Prayer - serve to inform, challenge, personalize, and give a prayer focus.
A good read for grandsons (and granddaughters).
October 22, 2021
This is a solid introduction to ten men in history who changed the church. I can imagine using this and the corresponding 10 Girls Who Made a Difference with late elementary through middle school and may do so with my coed cross country team at the local Christian school where I teach. Of particular interest are the closing pages of each short chapter biography that include a Fact Finder, Keynote, Think and Prayer.
June 4, 2022
This book was helpful for introducing the kids to various historical figures and learning about some events from church history. That said, basically everyone seemed to be turned into an Evangelical and, for the figures I was familiar with, there were historical inaccuracies (not sure about the others, but I would expect so too). Kids need books like this, but they also need them to be accurate too.
May 23, 2020
Review to come soon
September 4, 2020
We loved reading about men of the faith who have gone before us! These were very introductory biographies. Four stars because the writing was a bit difficult to read aloud.
June 3, 2021
Great read for elementary students, and encouraging for adults even
July 31, 2022
An educational book for younger kids to learn about church history
December 29, 2022
Helpful little introductions about people from church history. Written and geared for kids. I enjoyed reading it to my 11 year old.
April 26, 2014
read over and over!!!!
June 7, 2023
I think it's harder to go up against false teachers than people who don't know the bible and don't pretend to
November 8, 2022
(Actually, i would rate it 3.3 stars 🙃)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews