Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers

Annie and Drew are "stuck" in Olney, England for the summer. Their mother brought them over, and leaves them pretty much to their selves except on the weekends. Everything in Olney is old, even most of the people, and the children are sure they are in for a boring summer. One of Drew's consolations is his CD player, which is constantly playing. One day they meet Mr. Pipes, so called because he is the church organist, and whom they find to be a great storyteller. In each chapter, he tells a short and appealing biography of many of the hymn writers from Britain. As he teaches the children to fish or row his boat, the "Toplady", he tells of the childhoods and interesting facts of the hymn writers. Mr. Pipes goes on to recite or sing some of their hymns, and tells why he appreciates them. In Olney, he shows them places in the lives of John Newton and William Cowper, and in the last chapter, they take a trip down the river Ouse to Bedford, and hear of John Bunyan. The children become interested in Mr. Pipes stories, and an affection grows between them. On one of the excursions with Mr. Pipes, Drew leaves his CD player somewhere, while he was listening to Mr. Pipes deploring modern music and praising these hymns of old. As Annie and Drew hear of God and learn the hymns (which their mother terms "dirges"), they see their sins and their need for God. They begin to desire a relationship with the Lord, and to serve Him in their lives. When they fly back to America, they will miss Olney, Mr. Pipes, and their other new friends, but they take with them their new knowledge and understanding of God. I enjoyed this book, in which I learned new things about many of the hymn writers. It was very interesting, with just enough story and plot blended into the biographies to keep the reader's interest, even for young children who might be anxious to know what happened next to the children and Mr. Pipes. I think the book (the first in a series of four) would be excellent read aloud to a family, with young children along with more mature ones enjoying the whole journey. At the end of each chapter, the lyrics and music for several of the hymns mentioned are included. This was helpful to me, because I had memorized all the verses included in the hymnbook to several of the hymns, and I was delighted to find more wonderful verses to them.

I had to do a book report on this book. I liked it VERY much. It is so clever, it is never "Children, I will tell you the story of Isaac Watts today"... Read the other two books and Bond's other trilogy the Crown & Covenant series. A must read!!

I received this book as a reading assignment my freshman year of high school. I remember thinking, "What is this? This is a kid's book! I don't want to read this!" Not reading it was not an option however, so I reluctantly read the book. My reluctance soon wore off as I became bewitched by the stories. Mr. Pipes, a saintly old British organist, meets two American children who are "stuck" in a small, rural British town for the summer. He teaches the children about the love of Christ through stories of hymn writers, including the great Isaac Watts. Throughout the book you learn about hymns, their writers, and music. The characters are intelligent, dynamic, and funny. This book is good for all ages and is great for family reading. It is especially geared towards ages 11-16, but any age can learn from it and enjoy it. This book is the first of a trilogy, and I recommend that you also purchase "Mr. Pipes and the Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation" as well as "Mr. Pipes comes to America." Enjoy!

Mr. Bond's wonderful book not only enlightens the reader to many fascinating biographies of the fathers and mothers of our hymnal, but tells a story in an interesting way in order to even keep the interest of young children. I highly recommend it to all, young and old, especially to be placed in a homeschool study. It is refreshing to see a book that tells the story of the important history of our church that has been so lacking before, especially in a children's book form. I highly commend Mr. Bond for his work.

For several years we've memorized hymns as a family, so when I found this book I was ecstatic. We're reading it a chapter a month and learning one of the hymns that goes with each story. It's obvious that an amazing amount of research went into this book, but somehow it doesn't feel as though the information is being stuffed into you. The stories become real. I look forward to reading the second one in the series, and hope to see others in the future. *note--the book includes lyrics and music for many of the hymns. I don't play an instrument, so we've learned some of the tunes from the Cyber Hymnal, another resource well worth checking out!