Ivan And the Hidden Bible

Ivan

by Myrna Grant

Ivan may not be the most popular boy in the school but he is the best football player they have. However, some of the other boys think that Ivan should not be allowed to play on the school team because he is a Christian. The teasing and the bullying continue and Ivan struggles on. Things begin to look up when Ivan and his sister Katya get the chance to travel to the Lenin Collective Farm to help with the harvest. It will be great to have a break from school with plenty of fresh air and exercise. But there's another reason Ivan and Katya can't wait to get there - there just might be a hidden Bible somewhere on the farm - the farm that once belonged to Ivan and Katya's Grandfather!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Christian, Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Myrna 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).

Reviews

[Rodger]

12 year old Ivan and his 10 year old sister Katya go on a field trip to a farm to help with the harvest. It just so happens that before it was a state collective farm, that particular farm belonged to Ivan's and Katya's ancestors. They're interested to see if their family Bible was hidden somewhere on that property.

I liked how this book brought emphasis to the status of Bibles in the Soviet Union. If a Bible was discovered, it would be burned, so few people had access to Bibles. In addition to scripture, a family Bible can have family records too. It helps me appreciate having access to scriptures and access to family records.

There are at least two typos in the version of the book I read: page 29 "Now that you now all about your grandfather,' (missing k in know); and page 39 'Grandpoppa must have know a lot about the Bible' (missing n in known).

[Nora Bebb]

When Ivan and Katya go to help at a collective farm and are not members of the young pioneers and can't participate in the games at the farm. The farm was once part of the Nazoroff's farm land owned by their ancestors. In this book of the series I found that Christian life is different in the Soviet Union than in

other places. When the Nazoroff family Bible was hidden so it would not be found by the Russian government. In the end I was surprised when Ivan found the old family Bible.

[Audrey]

Ivan is a boy living in the Soviet Union. As a Christian he often gets mistreated for his faith. One day he and his classmates go to a collective farm that used to be his grandfather's estate. Even though it is dangerous he looks for the family Bible that he suspects is hidden there.

[Christopher Hachet]

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!

[Daniel Amador]

2.5 Stars.

Really, my thoughts are about the same for every book in the series. They’re fun, give me some previously unknown insight into the life of a Christian in the Soviet Union/Russia, and offer some encouraging Christian messages. But they lack a significant number of qualities. It jumps heads, has numerous typos, is fairly predictable, has poor, overused character descriptions, and for some reason, that one super weird drawing of Ivan and Katya outside has appeared in just about every book multiple times, which was slightly painful for my eyes.
They are super short, though, so I don’t mind too much reading them. They can be enjoyable at times. Both my parents, from two different continents and childhoods, read them as kids and loved them.

[Lisa]

I think this is the third I've read in the Ivan series and it is my favorite so far. Ivan and Katya were united as siblings and dedicated to quietly living their Christian faith despite abuse and opposition. The mystery was exciting and despite it being a very short book it was a good read aloud.

[Crystin]

Excellent. Great to read aloud together as a family. Kids didn’t want me to stop reading. So many great lessons

[Luis Silva]

I 'll like a read! I have a curiosity!

[Lisa Flerlage]

Quick read but great lesson in learning about Christianity and Communism. Our family enjoyed it.

[Rick Bavera]

This is a good read, looking at the way Christians were treated in the Soviet era from the perspective of a boy and his sister.

[Linda]

interesting to read about Christianity in a goddless country