Who was Martin Luther? by Danika Cooley

This is a brief history of the life of Martin Luther. It begins when Martin was a child and his strict home life. It then follows as he grows, attends college, is spared in a storm, and commits himself to be a monk. He reads scripture for himself, is saved, and writes the Ninety-Five Theses. It recounts his escaping from death several times, marrying Kate, and having many children. There are pages that also explain things like the printing press, the hierarchy of the Medieval Roman Catholic Church, Feudalism, and Bible translations. The book ends with a timeline of Luther’s life events.

Reading Level: Ages 6-11
Read Aloud Age: 6+

This book is part of a new series that is basically the Christian response to the wildly popular Who HQ series. This retelling of Luther’s life does an excellent job of briefly touching on all of his major and important life events. I really appreciate that the author started with Luther’s childhood so children can understand where he came from as well as the incredible things he accomplished through God’s grace.

The author doesn’t shy away from some of the harder topics like Luther’s temper, the Black Death, the German Peasant War, and the death of his daughter, Magdalena. None of the topics are gone into in any great detail but acknowledged nonetheless. If you have an especially sensitive reader, they may find some of the topics troubling, but much of history is, and talking through these things with your children will likely prove beneficial rather than harmful. I highly recommend this book for your family.

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