Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
Are you studying WWII, wanting to include biographies, or need a good read-aloud? Then, you will want to check out YWAM Publishing’s Christian Heroes: Then and Now series. We read one of their biographies in our homeschool, Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den. It is a biography that your kids will really enjoy.
Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den Biography
What is this biography about?
The book Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den is about the measures one woman and her family went to to help the Jewish people in the Netherlands during World War II.
Corrie was a middle-aged woman living with her father and sisters. She not only helped take care of their home but was also a watchmaker in her father’s clock shop.
The story begins by telling a little background of Corrie’s early life. However, most of the story focuses on the 1940s in Haarlem when the Nazi Germans begin to occupy the Netherlands. Eventually, they occupy their country. You witness how the people’s lives change and the challenges they face in an occupied country.
As time goes on, Corrie, just an average Christian woman, realizes she must do something to help the Jewish people suffering in their community. So, to help, she becomes part of the underground and has the Angel’s Den, a hiding place for the Jewish people, built in their home.
Throughout the story, you see all she and her family endured trying to help their community and later in prison and concentration camps. Yet, they held true to their faith that God would get them through it.
This book is a remarkable biography. My son and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next and how she and her family would overcome it all. Being a middle-aged woman, I felt connected to the story and wondered if I would have the same courage as Corrie ten Boom.
Physical Description
YWAM Publishing puts out good-quality paperback books. The Christian Heroes: Then & Now book series, geared toward 10+, are not super long. The Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den is a paperback of about 200 pages with fifteen chapters.
Inside the front of the book is a page with maps showing where the Netherlands is located. This is an excellent addition that is quite helpful to set the scene for the story.
In the back of the book, there is a bibliography. You can search through and find the resources used for research. We noticed much of the research used was from Corrie ten Boom’s own books. She became a writer (and did speeches worldwide), sharing her story and message with others.
The book does not have any images besides the maps. So, I really pay attention to the font with all text throughout the book. I liked the size of the font within the book. It is a good size for children to easily read, and it isn’t too intimidating, as can be the case with small text filling a page.
I always enjoy the covers of YWAM Publishing’s biographies. They have great images that give the reader a glimpse into the person’s life.
How We Used this Biography in Our Homeschool
I decided to use this book as part of my son’s reading time. However, instead of him reading it independently, we did it as a read-aloud. It was an excellent way for my 13-year-old son and me to spend some time together and discuss the book. And we did have some great discussions while reading!
Each day I would read at least one chapter, sometimes more, and we would discuss what was going on. We’d discuss how we’d react and the great messages we found throughout the book.
Even though World War II and information on the concentration camps are difficult, the authors handle the subject in an age-appropriate way. They didn’t hold back about the suffering, the purpose of the gas chambers, or the horrible treatment people received. However, it didn’t feel too heavy or complex for my son to hear. He understands that time in history and the atrocities committed against people. In addition, it led to great discussions about how people can do terrible things to one another.
Unit Studies to Accompany the Biographies
All of the biographies from YWAM Publishing have a digital unit study. I really love how thorough these unit studies are because they give you so many ways to incorporate multiple subjects, learning styles, and ways to use the book.
Each unit study includes:
- Introduction
- Key Bible Verses– I found these useful to use for memory work.
- Display Corner- Suggestions on creating a display area while studying the book.
- Chapter Questions for each chapter in the book.
- Student Explorations- This section is super fun. It gives suggested writing assignments, various project ideas, arts and crafts, and more.
- Community Links- I think getting out in the community is important with this topic. So there are suggestions on finding different resources in your community to explore the matter further.
- Social Studies– Here, you can find a variety of mapping, vocabulary, and geography-type work with kids.
- Related Themes to Explore
- Culminating Event- Suggestions on how to wrap up your study.
- Other Books and Resources- We found a movie based on the ten Boom family that we watched.
- Answer Key for Chapter Questions
- Handouts you can make copies of for Social Studies
For this book, we did not use the unit study extensively. However, we used the mapping activities and a quick overview sheet of the Netherlands to help my son understand the country and where things were located.
Usually, I use the questions, but we were having some great discussions on our own that we didn’t. However, when looking through the questions, I found we often covered the main points.
We did watch the movie, The Hiding Place, which was mentioned in the unit study. My son enjoyed seeing Corrie’s life played out in the film. A really nice touch is that the real Corrie ten Boom is at the end of the movie.
Overall Thoughts of this Biography on Corrie ten Boom
As you can already tell, we really enjoyed this biography! Though, we love all the biographies we have read from YWAM Publishing. Like all of them, we were quickly sucked into Corrie ten Boom’s life on page one. The authors, Janet and Geoff Benge do a fabulous job making biographies engaging for kids. This isn’t a boring biography filled with facts. Instead, it weaves a nice story where you learn about the person, the historical period, and challenging issues in an age-appropriate way.
I love the messages throughout the book. You see so much hate and wickedness of people, but through it all, Corrie’s sister, Betsie, helps her to see hate is not the answer. And in her sister’s words, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper.” This message of love and forgiveness is expressed throughout the book.
We have had the pleasure of reviewing other biographies from YWAM publishing in which we used more of the unit study. So you can take a look at this one on Milton Hershey and this one on Alan Shepard.
What My Son Thought of the Biography
I asked my son what he thought of this biography. He said he found it very interesting. He never knew about Corrie ten Boom, but she had a fascinating life. Plus, he enjoyed learning some of the information on the Netherlands. For some reason, he thought it was cool they called their house the Beje.
He was pretty familiar with World War II history, so most wasn’t a shock to him. However, he did like seeing it through the eyes of someone living through it.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book for reading or to incorporate it in a WW II study.
Other Crew members read Christian Heroes: Then & Now biographies from YWAM Publishing. You can read their reviews here or click the banner below.
Happy Homeschooling!
