School Days: YWAM Publishing- Corrie Ten Boom

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way.

In a typical review, this first paragraph would have me trying to grab your attention with a clever joke, interesting story, or some cool fact about history, math, or whatever the subject matter was, related to the post. In this case, I'm going to basically sum up my thoughts right off the bat. YWAM Publishing is an outstanding company! They provided our family with a copy of Corrie Ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels' Den from their Christian Heroes: Then & Now series, to read and review.
YWAM stands for Youth With A Mission. YWAM Publishing is a part of their global missions ministries. The Christian Heroes: Then & Now series are written by husband and wife team, Janet & Geoff Benge. Originally from New Zealand, they have twenty years of writing experience, and I must say, they do it well.

My daughters and I have read a few titles from this series, and I say with no exaggeration, that we've loved every one. Each book is written as a story told from the main characters' point of view, which is different from a typical biography. This writing style makes you feel like you're reading a novel. This particular book, Corrie Ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels' Den, though, is our favorite so far. Are you familiar with this amazing Christian woman?
Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983) was a Dutch woman who grew up in a tight knit Christian family in their home that was known as the Beje (bay-yay). You can see from her early life that she was a determined, caring person, as she began a number of girls club, including the Triangle Club, that would eventually number in the hundreds. Her goal was to share the love of God with teenaged girls. Her father, Casper, was a loving, kind man, and well thought of in his community. His daily habits of Bible reading, praying, and sharing the love of God with their neighbors had a profound impact on Corrie that would spur her on in the difficult days of WWII.

This book will take you through the early days of Ten Boom and her family, just prior to the German invasion of Holland. Readers will be captivated as they read about this family's determination to not only stay true to their faith in the midst of the terror from the Nazis, but their boldness and bravery in sharing God's love with their enemies.

One such amazing act of courage was their creation of a secret room within their home to conceal Jewish families that needed to escape the Germans. Dubbed the Angels' Den, this beautifully concealed room built right inside Corrie Ten Boom's bedroom remained undetected for the duration of the war. While the room itself was never discovered, the Ten Booms were found out, and ultimately sent to concentration camps. Even faced with the unspeakable horrors at Ravensbruck, Corrie never lost her faith, or her boldness for God. That isn't to say that she didn't struggle to forgive her enemies. In one of the most awesome accounts told by Corrie, she tells of coming face to face with an SS Guard from Ravensbruck. He had turned to Christ, and reached out to shake her hand, and she spoke of the hate for him that filled her heart as she pictured the faces of her sister and father, both of whom had died in the camps. But, she prayed that God would "help me to live my message". As she shook his hand, she was filled with forgiveness. What can you say to that, but wow!

My daughters love this series. My oldest would love it if we did all of our history through these books, as they are so compelling to read. There are 15 chapters in this book. Enthusiastic readers can complete this in a few hours. This, as well as the rest of the books, are wonderful introductions to the historical figures for elementary up through at least 8th grade, although high schoolers and up will love too, we sure do! They provide just enough of the basic information without being too graphic.

Families could easily stretch out any of the stories in the series by implementing the study guides that are available separately for each title. They include a variety of activities that could be used to create a unit study, including chapter questions, Bible verses, geography, display ideas, and word searches. We did not use the guide this time around, in order to make sure that both of my daughters and I could all read the book. My oldest did ask me more than once if we could use these as a base for history. Reading events in a story format makes it so much more interesting for her, and I notice that she retains the information better as well, so maybe I will at least use these as a starting point. Even as a read alone book, I would recommend these to any and every family for their inspiration and encouragement.