Dave & Neta Jackson. The Bandit of Ashley Downs. Bethany House Publishers. 19939.

Dave & Neta Jackson. Ambushed in Jaguar Swamp. Bethany House Publishers. 1999.

The Trailblazer Books introduce your readers, aged 8-12, to Christian heroes of the past. The Bandit of Ashley Downs is the story of an orphan in the 1870s living in London, England. They'll read about a 12 year old boy forced to support himself on the streets of London by stealing.

Learn how, after stealing from a church, he winds up in the orphanage run by George Muller. While there, Curly Roddy comes to learn that this orphanage depends totally on God to supply all its needs. Muller even has the children sit down for meals when there is no food available. They quietly pray and wait for someone to deliver their "daily bread" to the front door. Obviously, a deep spiritual lesson is taught through this book.

Ambushed in Jaguar Swamp tells the story of Barbrooke Grubb, a missionary from England, residing with the Lengua tribe in Paraguay. The story occurs around 1900 although some events in the book are out of chronological order. For the sake of the story, some fictional parts are included. This tribe had a legend about a man coming that would save them from their world. Witch doctors and superstitions are prominent in Lengua culture at the time. Therefore Grubb has to make rules for the Indians choosing to live at the mission compound.

These are very commonsense rules. They may not be totally appropriate for today but parents will find some definite openings to talk with their children about the issues of abortion, drinking, partying, stealing, and working for what you want while sharing this story.

Recommendation

In my opinion, this may be the most important series of books available for late elementary youth today. They definitely share Christian beliefs and should challenge your children to develop a close relationship with Jesus Christ. They are available at your local Christian bookstore or at amazon.com.

Churches and Christian schools will want to consider adding this series of books to your libraries. Today's textbooks leave out Christian heroes; therefore, the Trailblazer Books will help complete the education of late elementary school youth.

Copyrighted by Diana Pederson, 2005-2009