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Lightkeepers
Ten Boys Who Made History
These Christian stalwarts were once young boys playing games, learning from mistakes and growing up in quite a different world. But was it that different?
Irene Howat has researched the lives of these men of God and draws out lessons we can all relate to, especially youngsters today. These boys made history... Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D L Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A W Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield.
Irene Howat has researched the lives of these men of God and draws out lessons we can all relate to, especially youngsters today. These boys made history... Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D L Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A W Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield.
153 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2003
5 people are currently reading
150 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 6, 2019
Bought and read this for my daughter to give to her 10 year old nephew as a Christmas gift . It's an excellent alternative to electronic toys or stories about dystopia or fantasy . It highlights the young years of famous people of the Christian faith . Don't worry , there's a girls volume as well .
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...
January 31, 2022
The third entry into the series is similar to the first (Talents) book. These include probably some of the more popular people someone has heard of. It's a very good inclusion in the series with a minor flaw.
In this volume, ten boys which include Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D L Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A W Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield 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.
This entry might have been a good first entry as it covers some really famous people. What they share in common is that they were really popular preachers or teachers of the Christian faith. It's still really impressive that so much is covered in so few pages. While the stories cover important parts of each person's life, it would have been good to cover more of how they "made history". These men are famous but how they made history isn't really that clear. For example, I didn't know much about Billy Sunday. His story is pretty much that he played baseball then became a preacher; how he made history isn't really clear unless the standard is that they're well known.
The flaw of exactly how they made history not being as highlighted as they could be is minor to the important people covered in church history who rose to fame for good reason. This is a great introduction for those (students or adults) looking into studying church history or wondering why these people are well known for being faithful and blessed to inspire us even to today. Final Grade - A-
In this volume, ten boys which include Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D L Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A W Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield 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.
This entry might have been a good first entry as it covers some really famous people. What they share in common is that they were really popular preachers or teachers of the Christian faith. It's still really impressive that so much is covered in so few pages. While the stories cover important parts of each person's life, it would have been good to cover more of how they "made history". These men are famous but how they made history isn't really that clear. For example, I didn't know much about Billy Sunday. His story is pretty much that he played baseball then became a preacher; how he made history isn't really clear unless the standard is that they're well known.
The flaw of exactly how they made history not being as highlighted as they could be is minor to the important people covered in church history who rose to fame for good reason. This is a great introduction for those (students or adults) looking into studying church history or wondering why these people are well known for being faithful and blessed to inspire us even to today. Final Grade - A-
July 31, 2025
I really waffled between 2 and 3 stars for this. I love the concept but the writing quality is all over the place. It’s great to have short biographies of all these different people for kids but there are no sources and the story telling style is sometimes unhelpful and confusing.
February 9, 2020
Very enjoying! I thought it was great!
June 16, 2020
review to come
January 6, 2021
I gotta say, I only knew about 2 of these men before hand
October 13, 2015
Ten Boys Who Made History presents short sketches of the lives of ten men who had a great influence on the Christian world. Ranging from Samuel Rutherford in the early 1600s to Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the 1900s, these men were sold out to Jesus Christ and did all they could to teach others about Him. Each story brings a man to life as it relates incidents from his childhood, and then shows the man he became and how God was able to use him to further His kingdom.
Read my full review here.
October 13, 2011
robert murray mccheyne john owen a w tozer
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October 10, 2014Good, simple read of some boys who God used.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews