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Ten P's in a Pod: The Million-Mile Journal of a Home School Family
An endearing adventure of the Arnold Pent family who followed an unconventional path as what some have called "the first modern homeschool family." In the early 1950s, Arnold Pent, Jr., and his wife Persis took their eight children out of public schools and began a million mile journey throughout the US and Canada together. Along the way, they presented their gospel message in churches, schools, and wherever they had opportunity. Central to the family's daily practice was in-depth Bible reading, study, and memorization. Their public programs featured music, preaching, scripture recitation, and always encouraged families to read the Bible together. The book was written by Arnold Pent III, the third child, who compiled it when he was 21 from his journals written as a teenager. A great story for those interested in home education, family discipleship, and evangelism.
198 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 15, 2008
This book was written by my father-in-law when he was 20 years old detailing their childhood travels around the country sharing the gospel in public schools and anywhere else that people would listen. It is fascinating and gives great insight to the Pent family Christian heritage, which I'm thankful to be a part of.
December 28, 2018
honestly this book bored me out SO MUCH and I personally wouldn't recommend it anyone. xD (unless you like reading biographies that are boring like no other)
March 31, 2016
I read this a long time ago, in hopes of finding something like "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers"; it's a good book, but didn't capture my heart quite like the above two did. It was interesting to read about the family's life; mainly it is valuable as a glimpse into another era through the eyes of a traveling Christian family.
February 5, 2015
I had so much fun reading this with my brother! It's an inspiring story of a family that prioritized Scripture in their life, spending time together, and who weren't afraid to live differently.
July 18, 2020
This is a fabulous book; one of the best non-Bible books I have read. It was written by Arnold Pent III, the 3rd of 8 children of Arnold Pent II and his wife Persis, when he was 21-years-old from entries in his journal from when he was 17-to-19-years-old. The 10 members of the Pent family traveled around the country singing and preaching for churches, television and radio programs, and anyone who would listen. Their goal was to win people to Christ and encourage Christians to read and memorize the Bible daily. Ten P's in a Pod is filled with (not necessarily chronological) stories over a few years of their travels. They were not from anywhere and went wherever God led them. They homeschooled and ate natural foods well before such things gained popularity in the early 1980s. Mostly, they lived their lives trusting God would supply their needs. This book has numerous examples of God doing just that. This book will also challenge you to have individual and family devotions, and to read your Bible daily, in a greater way than you ever have before. It is well written, reads quickly, is funny, and is inspiring. I highly, highly recommend this book. This book was first self-published in 1965. This version is an excellently published edition from Vision Forum.
March 20, 2012
I'm never sure what to make of books about extreme faithfulness when it seems to fly in the face of common sense (waking babies up to participate in family devotions). The author seems to have good memories of his childhood travels as a family of evangelists.
July 22, 2018
We did this as a read aloud. It is a fun read with various stories about the Pent family. The theology is not always the best.
April 4, 2019
A family that reads the Bible together & travels around the US & Canada teaching & singing the Word of God. Makes me want to read my Bible more.
December 1, 2019
I loved this book,it was a great challenge to dig deeper and spend more time in the Bible. The humorous, daily life of this faith filled family was a pleasure to read.
June 10, 2012
Back in the early 1950s, Arnold Pent Jr. and his wife Persis took their eight children out of public schools and began a journey that lasted more than one million miles during the 50s and early 60s throughout the United States and Canada, using three rather antiquated automobiles, to present the gospel message of Jesus Christ in word and song wherever they had the opportunity. Arnold’s father, Arnold Van Dyke Pent Sr., had been a cigar manufacturer in Philadelphia, PA, but was converted to Christ at age 45 and became a minister. He sent his son Arnold Jr. to Wheaton Academy and Wheaton College, and, after graduating from the Bible Institute of Pennsylvania (now the Philadelphia College of the Bible and Graduate School), he too became a minister.
During this time, the Pents had regular family devotions. These were not just five minute per day sessions with a couple of verses and a quick application. The children were expected to read their Bibles every morning anywhere from fifteen minutes to a full hour, depending on their age, and then the group had half-hour devotions after every meal in which they read and discussed large portions of Scripture. As a result, they were able to quote whole chapters and even books of the Bible without active memorization. Indeed, obedience to God’s will was their prime motivation in everything they did. When Mr. and Mrs. Pent made the decision to keep their children out of public school, Mr. Pent said, “I just don’t think it’s right to let an atheist or non-believer have our children the best part of every day, teaching them many things that we will have to turn right around and tell them are not true.” Publisher Doug Phillips wrote, “Future historians may look back on the Arnold Pent family and describe them as the 'first modern home school family.’ Long before there were any state home schooling organizations or curriculum fairs, Arnold Pent declared his independence from government education and his dependence on Jesus Christ in the training of his children.”
This book, written by Arnold Pent III, the third child and second son, was compiled when he was 21 from journals that he had kept when he was ages seventeen to nineteen, and tells the story, not necessarily in chronological order, about the Pent family’s journey of home education, family discipleship, and gospel evangelism. It is after the order of Kathryn Forbes’s Mamma’s Bank Account (also called I Remember Mamma), Clarence Day’s Life with Father, and Frank Gilbreth’s Cheaper by the Dozen, but with a distinctly Christian flavor. There are a few religious ideas and practices mentioned with which some might disagree depending on their theological background, but these are minor. The only real criticism that I saw of the book was by someone who was “disturbed by the ‘Christian brinksmanship’ that was pervasive throughout the book” where “Mr. Pent deliberately and repeatedly put his family in situations--such as driving through a North Dakota blizzard with bald tires.” However, one man’s “Christian brinkmanship” is another man’s expression of faith. As someone else noted, the Pents often wondered where they would sleep or where their next meal would come from or how they would pay for gas, but they trusted God and He always provided.
During this time, the Pents had regular family devotions. These were not just five minute per day sessions with a couple of verses and a quick application. The children were expected to read their Bibles every morning anywhere from fifteen minutes to a full hour, depending on their age, and then the group had half-hour devotions after every meal in which they read and discussed large portions of Scripture. As a result, they were able to quote whole chapters and even books of the Bible without active memorization. Indeed, obedience to God’s will was their prime motivation in everything they did. When Mr. and Mrs. Pent made the decision to keep their children out of public school, Mr. Pent said, “I just don’t think it’s right to let an atheist or non-believer have our children the best part of every day, teaching them many things that we will have to turn right around and tell them are not true.” Publisher Doug Phillips wrote, “Future historians may look back on the Arnold Pent family and describe them as the 'first modern home school family.’ Long before there were any state home schooling organizations or curriculum fairs, Arnold Pent declared his independence from government education and his dependence on Jesus Christ in the training of his children.”
This book, written by Arnold Pent III, the third child and second son, was compiled when he was 21 from journals that he had kept when he was ages seventeen to nineteen, and tells the story, not necessarily in chronological order, about the Pent family’s journey of home education, family discipleship, and gospel evangelism. It is after the order of Kathryn Forbes’s Mamma’s Bank Account (also called I Remember Mamma), Clarence Day’s Life with Father, and Frank Gilbreth’s Cheaper by the Dozen, but with a distinctly Christian flavor. There are a few religious ideas and practices mentioned with which some might disagree depending on their theological background, but these are minor. The only real criticism that I saw of the book was by someone who was “disturbed by the ‘Christian brinksmanship’ that was pervasive throughout the book” where “Mr. Pent deliberately and repeatedly put his family in situations--such as driving through a North Dakota blizzard with bald tires.” However, one man’s “Christian brinkmanship” is another man’s expression of faith. As someone else noted, the Pents often wondered where they would sleep or where their next meal would come from or how they would pay for gas, but they trusted God and He always provided.
August 4, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It is the real story of the Arnold Pent family which consisted of eight children and with the two parents that made 10-thus the title. :) The Pent family lived in the 1940's and had a family ministry of traveling all around the U.S. and Canada to share the Gospel message through Scripture memorization/quotation, preaching and singing as a family. I really enjoyed this book because it was very down to earth and quite humorous at times. It was written from parts of Arnold Pent the thirds journal and shares a lot of their family memories of traveling and living day-to-day life in that time. The Pent family were not afraid to let everyone know that life wasn't always easy. They didn't always have a lot of money, often they were on their way to a speaking engagement/s and only had a few dollars in their pocket with ten mouths to feed and bed. Yet they always trusted God, and never did they go without, God always provided just when they needed it most. There were lots of interesting stories in this book about real experiences that happened to the Pent family including sleeping at rest stops on top of picnic tables, "interesting" encounters with people they witnesses to, and lots, lots more!
This family's love for the Lord was so obvious, one thing I found neat about their family is that through several hours of Bible devotions each day, by age 21 their children could usually quote the whole New Testament by heart from memory just because they had read it so often! This family was one of the first ever to home school their children and they shared in this book how that happened. This is a wonderful non-fiction that I really enjoyed. I would recommend it to others living in a large homeschooling, Christian family or for those who are interesting in learning about Christians of the past through a humerus, humble, inspirational read such as this one.
This family's love for the Lord was so obvious, one thing I found neat about their family is that through several hours of Bible devotions each day, by age 21 their children could usually quote the whole New Testament by heart from memory just because they had read it so often! This family was one of the first ever to home school their children and they shared in this book how that happened. This is a wonderful non-fiction that I really enjoyed. I would recommend it to others living in a large homeschooling, Christian family or for those who are interesting in learning about Christians of the past through a humerus, humble, inspirational read such as this one.
February 2, 2012
My Mom read this book out loud to our family a few years ago and we all enjoyed it. The Pent family (2 parents + 8 kids = 10 P's) traveled around the country visiting churches to give evangelistic meetings. The children sang and also quoted scripture as part of the church meetings.
This book encouraged us to read the Bible more often as a family and individually. Over the years, the one thing that has stuck out in my mind from this book was how often the Pent's read the Bible, and meditated on it. The children had large portions memorized (whole books in some cases) simply from having heard it so much.
We used this book as an evening devotional and it was definitely an encouragement to our family.
This book encouraged us to read the Bible more often as a family and individually. Over the years, the one thing that has stuck out in my mind from this book was how often the Pent's read the Bible, and meditated on it. The children had large portions memorized (whole books in some cases) simply from having heard it so much.
We used this book as an evening devotional and it was definitely an encouragement to our family.
October 30, 2009
Some friends gave me this book for Christmas several years ago. I’ve been wanting to read it ever since, and finally pulled off the shelf to read this year. I could definitely relate to certain stories shared by the author! More than anything, I was inspired by the large amount of Scripture reading that was required in the Pent family – several hours a day for most of the family members. Because of such consistency in God’s Word, many of the children, by default, had memorized large portions of Scripture, which they regularly recited during their family programs. This book challenged me to make a more conscientious effort to spend time reading Scripture.
August 10, 2014
This is an incredible book! Written by the third child in the family of ten, "Ten P's in a Pod" gives readers a close-up view into the life of this not-so-average American family in the 40s and 50s. Dubbed the “most unusual family in the world,” the Pents traveled nearly a million miles across North America preaching the gospel and performing as a family band. They also became one of America’s first modern homeschool families and memorized much of the Bible as a family. Ten P’s in a Pod is a humorous, insightful, and encouraging book for all ages that emphasizes the importance of the gospel, family, and daily Bible reading. Five stars!
December 19, 2011
My sister, Annie, and brother, Andrew, read this together with me, and we really enjoyed it (sometimes my mom got in on the readings, too). It is the true story of a unique family who travels together, sings together, prays together...and they make the Word of God a big part of their day, from which they reap rich spiritual rewards. It is an inspiring and sometimes humorous book for the whole family. (There are some quirky illustrations, too.) Read for yourself!
May 18, 2009
This book really made a giant impact in my life. This was unexpected, I just thought it would be a good read. I feel inspired to spend more time both personally and as a family in God's word. I am encouraged in spending more time with my family and teaching my children. This book is a must-read for Christian families, especially homeschoolers. I plan on buying a copy, it is a book to read again and again with your family.
November 2, 2008
Hmm. I was prepared to like this book a lot, and at times I really did. But the "preaching" is so constant and thorough that it stole some of the charm. And I don't often say that about spiritual content. I just felt like I'd been bludgeoned rather than persuaded. Some cute stories, interspersed with lots and lots and lots of Bible verses, delivered with an over-the-head-thunk.
April 12, 2018
This book was great! It tells the story of a large family that homeschooled and traveled the nation to preach the gospel together in the 50’s. I loved the humor about large family living, a very small budget and homeschooling. The theme throughout this book is about family discipleship. I 100% recommend it!
September 30, 2007
I loved this book! It was really really good! If you haven't read it, you should! :-)
I loved how they were always reading the Bible, and how they were great Christians! And also how many fun stories there were in it! :-)
I loved how they were always reading the Bible, and how they were great Christians! And also how many fun stories there were in it! :-)
April 29, 2008
This is a wonderful book about a family with a true PASSION for God's Word. I just finished reading it on my own and last night I started reading it aloud to the fam. I HIGHLY recommend it as family reading!
July 28, 2008
We are reading this as a family. It's very funny and almost fits our own family perfectly (except that we're not on the road.)
Put on hold for a while. We're having a busy summer!:)
Put on hold for a while. We're having a busy summer!:)
May 12, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. The story is easy to read and endearing. Scripture is quoted on almost every page. With light-hearted humor, the author shares some stories and "training suggestions" for those that want to lead a life dependent on God and aimed at glorifying God in everything.
October 12, 2008
Great book ! Every one should read this , It would be especially great to read as a family.
December 7, 2008
We're going to read this aloud in the evenings.
October 1, 2012
Fantastic book. Great conviction on reading the Bible as a family.
November 2, 2012
This is such an excellent,fun,refreshing read.
March 10, 2013
This was another one of those all-time amazing books about a family who slows down to hear God's messages to them each day while staying in the Word. Loved reading it!
May 12, 2013
Good family book!
March 30, 2014
Very captivating story, and down right hilarious! Great family read.
June 26, 2014
I really, really enjoyed this. It was as convicting as it was entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews