Augustine: The Farmer's Boy of Tagaste

by P. de Zeeuw J. Gzn, Hein Kray (Illustrator)

A biography of Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century teacher, whose writings had particular significance to Christians and their church at this time.

Genres: Biography, History, Church History, School, Faith

93 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1988

About the author

Pieter de Zeeuw, J.Gzn was a Dutch author and translator of children's works.

Reviews

[Emily Hembree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another day, another book read for school. This was a pretty good collection of stories recounting Augustine’s life pre and post conversion. Looking forward to discussing it with my students!

[Rick Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gets across the facts about Augustine's life for a young audience. In that regard the book is good. Unfortunately the translation, made by the author himself I believe, comes across in a stilted, Victorian-moralist tone despite being written in the 1980s. There are also numerous typos and punctuation mistakes, and the names of characters are sometimes spelled differently in different parts of the book.

[Angie Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle grader biography of Augustine. At less than 100 pages it didn't take long to get through. Overall it was interesting and I learned a lot about Augustine's life. I was disappointed by the typos in the book.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read-aloud with your kids—they’ll be fascinated by the life of Augustine and they will eagerly anticipate his conversion. It will provide lots of big concepts to discuss. But this translation is full of errors and can be hard to read at times.

[Israël Egan Haines · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really amazing book!

[Harrison Staab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Augustine's life is told in an interesting way.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, children's biography; I read the 93 pages in about an hour. The account begins in Augustine's childhood, and depicts his very wayward life. His mother, Monica, follows him throughout his years of wickedness with her love, prayers, and tears. It would be an encouraging story to mothers who see their children walking apart from the Lord. God does hear and answer prayer. The book includes his conversion and later service in the church, concluding with his passing from death into Life eternal.

One chapter near the end of the book tells a legend of an angel, appearing as a young boy teaching a lesson to Augustine. THe bishop had been trying to understand with his mind Who God is, and the lesson was that our minds can not comprehend God in His fullness, and we must believe what we know. This is not presented as fact, but is called a legend in the book.

I think the book is an excellent introduction to Augustine, especially for younger children. It's an easy read for those who want to know about Augustine, but don't have the time to go through "Confessions" or "City of God."

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was amazed to read this biography of Augustine. This biography tells the sordid life of Augustine. Like the prodigal son, he made devastating choices in his life that grieved his parents and family. A breakdown under a fig tree brought Augustine to the end of himself and to the transforming power of Christ. Augustine became one of the greatest among the Church Fathers, combatting false teachings. His work to return the church to the Bible as the infallible Word of God was continued centuries later by Martin Luther.

The story itself is powerful, however the book is written in a straight-foward approach that is a little boring for the younger reader. It openly discusses points of immorality in Augustine's life that a parent would need to handle together with younger readers.
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[Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Augustine was a very sinful boy. He lied, cheated, and stole. Everyone in Tagaste thought he was hopeless. And, after years and years and years of his mother praying for God to bring salvation to her boy, He finally did. Augustine had gone to church with his mother just to hear a very well known speaker, but was was inspired by God's eternal love. He started devoting his life to God's work instead of man's pleasure. Eventually, he became the Bishop of Hippo.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good juvenile book about Augustine.

[Kendra Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

History Year Two

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Augustine The Farmer's Boy Of Tagaste has 93 pages, and is by P. De Zeeuw, it is about Saint Augustine, and how he converted to christianity, this book was ok, but definetly not my faorite.

[Jenny Hoksbergen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Not the best writing and not positive about the accuracy.