Gladys Aylward, The Little Woman With a Big Dream

While in her twenties, Gladys Aylward (1902-1970) felt called to serve God in China and enrolled at missionary school. After failing her exam and being told that she couldn’t go, she was eventually given the opportunity by an elderly missionary in China who needed a young woman to help her. The only problem was that she needed to pay for her journey there. China is a very long way away! So Gladys worked day and night until, eventually, she had enough for a train ticket to China. But her train stopped in Siberia and wouldn’t go any further. Gladys had to cross a dark forest, surrounded by packs of hungry wolves. She met scary people who thought she was a spy. She sneaked onto a ship, and then took another boat, another train, a bus and lastly a donkey! When she eventually arrived, the villagers were deeply suspicious and threw mud at her! But, with time, Gladys earned the trust of those around her and helped the elderly missionary, Jeannie, to run a guesthouse for tired travellers, where they would read them stories from the Bible every night. Children will enjoy this beautifully illustrated children's biography, which can be read to young children aged 4-5 and read by children aged 6 plus.

Publisher: Good Book Company
Type: Hardback
ISBN: 9781784986551

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Laura Caputo-Wickham is a children’s author from Rome, now living in Kent with her husband, James, two young daughters and a cat. In her spare time, Laura is involved with her church’s toddler group and helps the children in her local school with their re

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Gladys Aylward is a great addition to the Do Great Things for God series. It is a picture book biography that teaches children about, in this case, a missionary to China. The book includes a timeline and an actual photograph of Gladys at the end of the book which is an awesome addition to the book. The text takes the reader through a very surface-level look at the life of Gladys Aylward and is accompanied by beautiful illustrations. It is at a level that is understandable for children without dumbing it down. I like that neither the author nor the illustrator shied away from including details about struggles Gladys faced with unwelcoming people or the war. The emphasis of trusting God carries through from beginning to end and is a great encouragement to the reader. We love this series for our homeschool library to teach our children about history and faith through lovely picture books. Mallory Formica