Corrie Ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem

If you've ever seen the Great Illustrated Classics and their counterpart, the Mini Illustrated Classics (both by Baronet Publishers), or maybe the Big Little Books, this book is done in the format of the Mini Illustrated Classics and softcover Big Little Books - about 5 1/2 inches tall and 218 pages of story and illustrations, with bibliography and a single-page glossary at the back. It even has a picture on every other page, done very much in the style of the artwork in the Illustrated Classics series. It's written at about a 5th grade reading level - not necessarily for struggling readers, but the illustrations should appeal to reluctant readers. The story is the inspiring biography of Corrie ten Boom, whose family hid fugitive Jews in a secret hiding place in their home in Holland, until they were found out by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. Throughout the book, Corrie and her family find ways to witness to others and lead many to Christ, even in the worst conditions of a Nazi death camp. The ten Booms certainly lived their faith under unimaginably horrible conditions, an example we modern day Christians need to see in this age of lukewarm apathy. I first discovered this story in a comic book version of Corrie ten Boom's THE HIDING PLACE as a teenager, and I later saw the movie when it came to late-night TV (we weren't allowed to go to the theater, even for a wonderful Christian movie like that!), so I was quick to purchase this illustrated version when I saw it several years ago. The book seems a bit preachy at times, though it is part of the "Young Reader's Christian Library" series - I'm sure that's also partly because I am more used to secular children's books from my fourth grade classroom. However, I'm making a homemade Accelerated Reader quiz on the book, which I will load onto our AR program at school, and the book will join the hundreds of other AR books on my classroom bookcases. I had one of my students mentioning the other day that her father doesn't like her reading most fantasy books - magic, talking animals, etc. Upon questioning later, she said she used to attend a Baptist school, which I said is my denomination too. Anyway, I'm making more of an effort these days to offer more books with a Christian theme or elements - books from the Christy fiction series by C. Archer, the Young Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard, and the Cooper Kids series by Frank Peretti are all being added to my classroom collection, as well as the Great Illustrated Classic, STORIES FROM THE BIBLE. If most classrooms have Harry Potter on their shelves (which I love, but which is certainly controversial and seen by some as anti-Christian), then I don't see any reason that books with a Christian message shouldn't also be offered as a choice to those students who want to read them.

This is an amazing story of perseverance. The book goes into detail of Corrie ten Boom's early years to help build up to the story that most know and love: Ms. ten Boom's time in Nazi concentration camps. It was fascinating to see the honesty given in the biography, showing that Ms. ten Boom was not some mystical creature but was an honest woman, who through strife, struggled with her faith. I have yet to read any of Corrie ten Boom's other books and am now quite interested to her complete point of view of what was happening during these years leading up to her imprisonment and the year that she was behind abhorrent conditions under the control and continual belittlement of the Nazi regime. But through it all, she continued to point to Christ. Even more so than herself, Corrie's sister Betsie, seemed to have an unshakable devotion and love for her enemies. Continual prayer for those who were beating them and calling them "cows." Anytime Corrie would have rage or anger (normal responses) it was always Betsie who brought Corrie back to the cross and forgiveness so that Corrie could once again refocus on the continual devotion to Christ and His forgiveness. If you know little about Corrie ten Boom this is a great read that will show you it was not just herself, neither did she pretend it ever was, but it was also her whole family who placed their faith and strength on Christ even through the deep pits that they were put in. When the Nazi's were going to allow Corrie's father, who was in his 80's when taken, to go back home they asked: "Listen up, old man. If I send you home will you behave yourself?" Papa ten Boom answered, "If I go home, I will open my door again to anyone who knocks...it is an honor to go to prison for God's people, I pity you." 9 days after going to a federal prison in Scheveningen, Papa ten Boom died. Not hard to see where Corrie and her siblings got their faith from. This is only one of the many times in this book that you will see the faith of a people who were more entranced with the Gospel rather than any Nazi threats, including Hitler himself.

A biography that shows how Corrie Ten Boom went through very hard times through the war, but still survived- with God's gracious help. She was a Christian, which meant that she had accepted the gift that God had given her- the gift of God sending his son to die for everyone that is willing to accept his love for us.

An Important story that our children need to hear! Told in a way that makes it hard to put down. And look at that price