Little Pilgrim's Big Journey Part II: Christiana & The Celestial City

The Pilgrim's Progress for Kids #2

by Tyler Van Halteren

The story continues! Follow Christiana and her brothers on a path full of adventure and faith as they seek the Celestial City. They will encounter danger, difficulty, and doubt, but they will learn that the King is with them each step of the way. This book continues the story of Little Pilgrim's Big Journey, making John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress engaging and captivating for families. The hardcover book is available for pre-order at lithoskids.com

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Picture Books, Classics, Christian

Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2021

About the author

Tyler holds a M.div from the Master's Seminary and has spent most of his life seeking to inspire children and youth to follow Christ and know God's Word.

After seeing 20 minute bedtime stories change his son's life, Tyler decided to take up the challenge of changing the world through biblically faithful and beautifully illustrated books.

Reviews

[Blessing Bloodworth (naptimereaders) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mama, why are there tears in your eyes?", says my five-year-old as we read the final chapter.
"Because, sweetheart, it's beautiful. And it's true," I reply.
"But it's just a story. It's not real," she tells me.
So I tell her the reason why I think every family should share these books with their children: "It's a story, yes. But it's a story that shows us something that is true."
And that truth points to the Gospel, which holds the power to change lives. Both ours, and that of our children.

[Shannon Evanko · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Evelyn said, “I just LOVE this book.”

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the story, devotional and questions but the illustrations are a little lame IMHO.

[Carissa Benton · Rating 5 out of 5]

We absolutely loved this book. Cannot recommend this series enough!

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t think of a better resource to introduce children to both the story and the message of Pilgrim’s Progress. Even for me, being less familiar with part 2 and the story of Christiana, it was a helpful primer to get to know the story and be able to teach my children the truths of the Word through the story. Highly recommended for all believing parents!

[Kevin Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story time: my nephew peeled off the image from the cover of this book, and I replaced it with a picture of my daughter, who looks a lot like the girl (Christiana) on the cover. Needless to say, my daughter loves it.

See my review of the trilogy.

[Anete Ābola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how these books show that the bitter must come before the sweet. The strongest adults are those that are prepared to stand strong through adversities. These books help kids with the inner sense of strength - that with God's help they can stand strong in their faith.
The book is full of wisdom. And kids usually start talking about these characters as about their friends. Highly suggested.

[Katharina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children love the first two books of this series and many good discussions with our children have resulted from reading them.

There is a strong child evangelism theme throughout these books that gave me some pause. Just something to be aware of and possibly discuss together.

[Madeline Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one seemed more difficult for young children to understand- more spiritual jargon than the first. The illustrations were also lacking in comparison with the first book of the series. On to the next!

[Laura Thigpen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating for both kids and adults! Great adaptation!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend reading this and the first of the series with your kids.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Excellent, excellent, excellent!!

[Bethanyanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to my 4 year old

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

#2 read aloud for 2023

I love that the story is filled with Scripture references even little listeners can recognize

[Shelly Patularu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our family absolutely loves this book. Such a great adaptation of The Pilgrims Progress for young children.

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always get emotional reading the crossing of the River scene.

[Emily Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book continues the story from the first volume — now focusing on Christiana (in this adaptation, a child rather than Christian’s wife in the original).

Christiana has heard the tales of the King’s good country her whole life… but now it’s her turn to follow the winding path toward the Celestial City. With her brave little brothers beside her, she leaves behind the familiar and steps into a world filled with wonders, dangers, and quiet whispers of grace.

Along the way, they meet guides who strengthen their courage, strangers who test their hearts, and shadows that try to pull them from the Way. Some days the journey feels joyful and light… other days it feels impossibly hard. But always—always—the King watches over them, sending help right when they need it most.

Every mountain climbed, every fear faced, every lesson learned slowly shapes their hearts to trust the King more deeply. And as Christiana walks forward, step by step, she discovers that the hardest paths often lead to the most beautiful promises.

Reading Little Pilgrims Big Journey Part II was such a joy but also a tear-jerker! Following Christiana and her brothers on their journey to the Celestial City reminded me how every step of faith matters—even the small, scary ones. My daughter continues to be captivated by the adventure, and I loved seeing the lessons of courage, trust, and God’s faithfulness come alive in a way they could understand. This book is a beautiful reminder that we’re never alone on our journey home.

A tender, adventure-filled reminder that little pilgrims—just like us—are never alone on the journey home. 🕊️✨

Thanks to lithos kids for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie - Mud Pies with Sprinkles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated and adapted book of John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." While this edition is adapted for the tiniest of readers, the allegory remains true and theologically sound, sure to ignite the moral imagination of the next generation.

Each Chapter closes with a chapter summary and discussion questions to help young readers grasp the meaning of the allegory.
____________
After we finished Part I, my girls (3, 5) asked almost everyday about Christina and if she would make the journey. My girls were happy dancing and begging to read it as soon as the package hit our doorstep.

We devoured it in 3 days! This series keeps my girls asking for another chapter. I've even caught them acting out portions which makes my mama heart happy.

I focused on the story with Miss 3 and later dove into more of the meaning with Miss 5. This is a series we will RETURN to!

The introduction of Lady Wisdom, Lady Folly, Help, Great-Heart, and Feeble sparked wonderful and edifying conversations.

"The King called out to Christina, "Welcome in, beloved daughter. Come and see all that I've prepared for you!"

I highly recommend this series for ages 3-8.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The above are my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Dory B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Pilgrim's Big Journey's story and colorful illustrations will surely captivate young children's attention. John Bunyan's allegorical characters and names assigned to each one give a load of spiritual insights even to adult readers. Children will get the storyline based on the illustrations. Guided by parents or adult companion, children will also appreciate the meanings of the names of the characters.

It is a journey that every professing Christian will take---with many pitfalls and triumphs along the way to the Kingdom of God. Throughout the book, the author presented the various challenges that the pilgrim's would face. On each turn, the Lord faithfully provides people who are called on to help, guide, and encourage the little pilgrims to never give up and hold on to God's promises.

No matter how many obstacles we encounter in our journey, the Lord will always help us to overcome and press on towards our destination -- the Celestial City. I recommend this book to children and adult readers.

[Lynnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good adaption of Pilgrim's Progress for children. I was pleasantly surprised that my 2.5 year old was able to sit through the whole thing considering how many words were on each page. He really enjoyed it and would flip to his favorite sections all the time. Because our kid is so young, we didn't make use of the questions at the end of each chapter but those look superb for older children. This seems like a book that will last for years. Well, not sure about the quality of the book. We got it from the library and the binding was quite loose already. Volume 2 was far superior to volume 1. The pictures had much better variety (probably because there were more children) and it was more interesting and fun to read.

[NESTA TOYS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Pilgrim's Big Journey Part II: Christiana & The Celestial City by Tyler Van Halteren is a captivating continuation of the classic allegorical tale. The story follows Christiana, the determined and faithful heroine, on her journey towards the Celestial City. Van Halteren’s writing is both engaging and inspiring, making complex themes of faith and perseverance accessible for young readers. The characters are well-developed, and the journey is filled with challenges that reflect universal life lessons. This book is a wonderful choice for readers who enjoy adventurous, thought-provoking stories with an underlying spiritual message.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow-up to the first book about Christian’s journey, now his siblings (who made fun of him for wanting to go to the Celestial City) have begun their journey. Stays true to the heart of Paul Bunyon’s classic while making age-appropriate changes to better suit a younger audience. I had to explain a lot and switched a lot of words for easier words for 3-year old Elliot, but we still LOVED it and will be reading it for years to come along with the first book. Teaches Bible doctrine through an adventurous allegory

[Monica McCracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for teaching children the Bible! This one was the story of how Christian’s family ended up following in his footsteps to go to the celestial city. One thing that was interesting was that there were some differences from the story of Little Pilgrim’s Progress. But I haven’t read the original, so I don’t know which is true. Doesn’t matter that much, as it’s still great.
This book had a lot of direct quotes from Scripture, which was pretty neat. And just like the first book, the allegory was explained after each chapter.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son couldn't get enough of this book, which we read out of order from the trilogy. I thought the vocabulary and concepts were a bit too advanced for him, but he was just enamored with the story and illustrations... Just shows you can't underestimate kids!

From my 5 year old son: "This is a great book! Because the girl transforms. It is interesting and it made me feel happy. Other people should read it because it's a great and important book. Even The Bible is, too. 5 year olds and 6 year olds would like this book."

[Abi Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is one of my kids favorites. If you are familiar with Pilgrims Progress, you’ll see that the storyline has not been altered or dumbed down in this retelling, just simplified enough and colorful pages added so that young kids can read and enjoy the stories. There are engaging discussion questions to get their minds rolling, or you can lean into the questions that arise as you’re reading. It’s a wonderful series!

[Zak Mellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful illustrations. My kids loved it, especially my six year old son. I've always felt that the second half of The Pilgrim's Progress was the original unnecessary sequel, and I feel like the story here suffers in the same ways. But again - if my kids love it, who cares? I'll set my inner critic aside and be filled with gratitude they're enjoying a book about living the Christian life to the glory of God.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of Part I for the basics. To be honest, I did not follow Part II as closely while listening on audio, so I cannot review in detail, but this may be because I have less memory of Christiana’s journey in the original. I think the adaptation is heavier for this part in an effort to make more continuity and balance with Part I.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved the second book to little pilgrims progress. So much depth in easy to understand language for littles. Stirred lots of probing questions, especially the ending! Such a sweet way to get the gospel in each night before bed. My little loved it! (& can’t wait for the third book bc the cover has KNIGHTS on it!)

[Eddie Mercado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. I haven’t read Bunyan’s Part II, so I’m not sure what portions were exclusively from part II, and which were adapted by the author of this edition in order to add more continuity with part I. But this was as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable than Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey pt 1.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids were asking to read this every night! What a great book for the kids and it keeps their attention. I loved that there are both books available of Pilgrims Progress in this adaptation and that I can share it with my littles! These definitely have become a favorite in our home!!