Who Was Joan of Arc?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, Who H.Q.

Joan of Arc was born in a small French village during the worst period of the Hundred Years' War. For generations, France had been besieged by the British. At age 11, Joan began to see religious visions telling her to join forces with the King of France. By the time she was a teenager, she was leading troops into battle in the name of her country. Though she was captured and executed for her beliefs, Joan of Arc became a Catholic saint and has since captured the world's imagination.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical, Juvenile

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2016

About the author

Pamela Pollack is a writer/editor/compiler of children's and young adult books.

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable and monumental life.

[Ali Book World · Rating 5 out of 5]

سرگذشت " ژان " ، دختر جوانی که در زمان جنگ‌های صد ساله‌ی میان فرانسه و انگلستان به کمک جامعه‌ی فرانسه آمد و در این راه به یک قدیس و محافظ معنویِ کشور فرانسه بَدَل گشت !

پ.ن: پنج ستاره دادم چون خیلی کوتاه، مختصر، مصور و راحت‌خوان بود!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fact that they were true to the historical version without the gorey details.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Was Joan of Arc? by Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso is a religious telling of Joan of Arc. Interesting with great illustrations. I got this book from the library.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She only lived nineteen years, but in those years she showed more strength, courage, and faith than most . . . She was proof that the poorest of peasant girls could be richest in faith and could save an entire country."

It is amazing that a young woman of only seventeen could turn the tide of history with her unwavering courage and undeniable faith. This well-written biography dissects a rather complicated political arena into an understandable narrative; putting Joan of Arc on full display, which she deserves.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad but informative...

[Kassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have been meaning to get around to reading about Joan of Arc since we visited Rouen this spring break, where Joan was burned at the stake. It was a perfect book for my 8 year old to learn more about her without all the gore that is attached to war and what happened to her! Perfect starting off point!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so happy to have found this series.
I learned...
Joan of Arc was shot the one time she fought on a holy day.
Charles 7 was no help after all she did to help put him on the throne, and did some self/France sabotaging decisions, and also only came to Joan's defense twenty years after she died, once the English were officially out of the country.
There were 4 major inquisitions, and she happened to be living (and killed) during one of them.
There had been a prophecy that France would be saved by a maid. So people were expecting someone like Joan to show up, and Charles' test of disguising himself was just to see if Joan was the right maid for the job.
Joan saw loads of saints and visions.

[Megan Kimmerle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how thorough and un-biased as always this book was, but it still was filled with much information that makes me question how God and religions work. Nonetheless, no matter what you believe, I would still highly recommend this book as again with every other book in this series, it is very quick-read, suitable for all ages, yet still very educational in a very entertaining way.

[Courtney Pletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

comprehensive overview of her life

This is a great comprehensive yet concise overview of who Joan of Arc was. It’s easily digestible for younger audiences for them to learn and understand historical figures.

[Trixie Wright]

Had to study up for Paris

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know much about the specific battles (many of them) and which King she was trying to support with the fighting. Good Info.

[Iyinoluwa Fayoyin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, and expository.

[Shahd Rdawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plus audible audiobook narrated by: Karyn O’Bryant

[Heather Tweed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to think about reading this as a third grader. I love the little fact boxes and certainly learned/ reviewed some history! I think I will read more of these “Who Was” books since I want to be “as smart as a third grader!”

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a woman.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Only 19 years on this earth and yet she left such an incredible legacy. Incredible she was so loyal to her king, who was not very loyal to her.

While on trial "Bishop Cauchon ...wanted her to say something that made it seem like she thought she was better than God...When asked if the archangel Michael was naked when he spoke to her, Joan said, "Do you think that God can't find him clothes?" (81)

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot begin to relate to her heroism and depth of humility and courage. I love Joan and this book series. BYU made a documentary of her life that is incredible. She was illiterate and lived in the 1400s, yet there is so much of her life that was documented because she was on trial for so long. Absolutely amazing.

[Lisa Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vivid story w/ factual background injected in a helpful, informative manner: I knew the basic story of Joan, but this little book made her into a real person and made real the enormity of what she accomplished. What a warrior, yet what a faithful girl! She heard the message of God and responded.

[Erin Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm amazed at the bravery of Joan of Arc. She was so young when she fought for her country and she devoted herself to making sure England's king did not have the chance to rule France. Her story is very inspiring.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great children's intro to Joan of Arc. I'm interested in more of this series, but I just got it for my daughter to learn a bit. I learned some things too. It covered a lot of the darker stuff but wasn't too graphic.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

By today's standards, she would be labeled a psychic schizophrenic.
Medicated, sent to "Napa" which is now discontinued, so she'd end up at a Medical Facility of incarceration, and medicated some more .. . ..

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting biography - amazing and ridiculous all at the same time. I honestly think the worst part is how the church took it all back and said she was innocent after everything they did to her and, you know, murdering her. Figures.

[Xenophon Westie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading books like this, so this might just be my opinion, but the book has very fine detail about the timeline of what she did. That helped me understand more about her life.

[Kelly Veatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting person to read about!

[Zoe Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because Joan is very strong in her faith.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Reading this makes me want to read a full biography about her. I think she is the most brave person I’ve ever read about

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know a lot about Joan of Arc so I found this interesting.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously I'd heard of Joan of Arc, but knew virtually nothing about her. Fascinating introductory biography.

[Juliana Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know Joan of Arc was put to death at age 19? Only 22 years later, the Catholic Church reopened her case. All because King Charles, who offered ZERO ransom for her when she was captured while other countries offered as high as 10,000, the same cost as a captured king, said so. When she was finally named a Saint a few HUNDRED years later in 1920, was the Catholic Church punished??? Did they take any remorseful action against themselves??

This short book was PACKED with need-to-know facts about Joan of Arc.

The book explained events in an easy to understand manner. At the end, both Joan of Arc’s timeline was provided as well as a World Events timeline. Having the world events timeline was advantageous to helping me understand when Joan’s actions occurred, and what was influencing the culture at that time.

This book makes me feel like 1400AD is a more relatable time then I could have guessed! I felt like I was actually there, riding with her.

Did you also know that while King Charles was crowned, Joan of Arc stood next to him? She was likely 16. In return for her loyalty towards him, her home town didn’t have to pay taxes for 320 years!!! Someone get me a prodigy in my hometown.

Last fun fact: Joan of Arc refused to wear anything but masculine clothes during her active years AND years in prison. She should have been placed in a prison with nuns overseeing her according to her “crimes,” but they placed her in a tower with guards who tortured her endlessly. Because they could.

This audiobook was only an hour long. I always turn the speed up faster, so it was about 40 minutes for me!

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