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Ivan
Ivan And the Secret in the Suitcase
Ivan and Katya are in the thick of yet another adventure - Smuggling! Can they carry off a smuggling operation right under the noses of suspicious government officials in Soviet Russia? Can they get the much needed warm clothes back to their needy friends and find out if they can take an even greater risk with Bibles.
Read how a secret youth prayer meeting, a family holiday to Hungary and a suitcase of old clothes bring Katya and Ivan close to danger once again as they desperately try to outwit the Secret Police.
Read how a secret youth prayer meeting, a family holiday to Hungary and a suitcase of old clothes bring Katya and Ivan close to danger once again as they desperately try to outwit the Secret Police.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1969
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About the author
Myrna Grant
35 books19 followersMyrna Grant is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Myrna Grant include Ivan and the Informer, Ivan and the Moscow Circus (The Ivan Series), Ivan and the Daring Escape (Ivan).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 27, 2024
Ivan's family travels from the Soviet Union to Hungary to visit family. Ivan withholds from telling his parents something very important.
One of my favorite things about the other books in this series is Ivan's good character. Keeping a secret from his parents diminishes that character some. However, this story does not condone this behavior. Keeping this secret weighs on him and it's a moral dilemma he learns from.
On the way to Hungary, I thought the commentary was interesting when the train stopped in Kyiv. In my own experience riding trains in Ukraine, they stop a lot, but the book made it sound as through this was a one stop train from Moscow to Hungary.
"'Kiev' he whispered. 'We are taking on more passengers.' The ancient capital of the Ukraine! ...'If only we could get out. If only we could see Kiev!' p.49
There were a couple discrepancies between this and other books in the series. Not all of the books say their ages, but the books in the series that do mention ages have Ivan as age 12 and Katya age 10. In this book, Ivan is 13 years old and Katya is still 10.
In Ivan and the American Journey, Ivan knew English fluently. However, in this book, he is 13 and doesn't know any English.
"I don't know English at all" p.66
"Ivan wished he knew English. It sounded very difficult and looked very strange as well. He wondered if he would ever be able to learn it." P. 89
One of my favorite things about the other books in this series is Ivan's good character. Keeping a secret from his parents diminishes that character some. However, this story does not condone this behavior. Keeping this secret weighs on him and it's a moral dilemma he learns from.
On the way to Hungary, I thought the commentary was interesting when the train stopped in Kyiv. In my own experience riding trains in Ukraine, they stop a lot, but the book made it sound as through this was a one stop train from Moscow to Hungary.
"'Kiev' he whispered. 'We are taking on more passengers.' The ancient capital of the Ukraine! ...'If only we could get out. If only we could see Kiev!' p.49
There were a couple discrepancies between this and other books in the series. Not all of the books say their ages, but the books in the series that do mention ages have Ivan as age 12 and Katya age 10. In this book, Ivan is 13 years old and Katya is still 10.
In Ivan and the American Journey, Ivan knew English fluently. However, in this book, he is 13 and doesn't know any English.
"I don't know English at all" p.66
"Ivan wished he knew English. It sounded very difficult and looked very strange as well. He wondered if he would ever be able to learn it." P. 89
May 13, 2023
I'll be honest... the worst in the series. There were so many flaws... from obvious plot holes the author just skips merrily over to unconvincing adjectives to awkward, defective similes. I'm sorry to be so negative about it, but I just don't see how an author—much less an editor! (assuming she had one)—could just ignore those. :(
November 28, 2022
This is actually really good readable Christian YA fiction. Well developed believable characters, nice pacing, good plot development. I can't say enough good about the whole series. I read these as a boy and still love them!
June 17, 2013
A boy(Ivan) and her sister are on a journey to deliver Biblyias to other christians in hungary. He goes in this mission with his family. Is a good adventure. an enjoyable reading recomended for young teens and older I love this book
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews