Why did the Reformation Happen? by Danika Cooley

This is a brief history of the Protestant Reformation. It begins by explaining how the church had “lost” the gospel and was preaching and teaching unbiblical things. It moves chronologically through the Reformation while addressing individual Reformers along the way. There are also chapters titled after each of the five “Solas” while teaching why these are so important. The Reformers covered are John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Girolamo Savonarola, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Thomas Cranmer, John Knox, John Foxe, William Tyndale, Philip Melanchthon, Katharina Zell, Renne of Ferrara, and Charlotte de Bourbon. It addresses Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, Foxe’s Acts and Monuments, Canons of Dort (TULIP), The Heidelberg Catechism, and the Westminster Confession of Faith. The book ends with a timeline of events.

Reading Level: Ages 6-11
Read Aloud Age: 5+

This book is part of a new series that is basically the Christian response to the wildly popular Who HQ series. This book is simply outstanding. While it is a very brief overview of the Reformation, the author does an incredible job of helping the reader understand why things happened the way they did and why it the Reformation was and is so important. There is also a crystal clear gospel presentation, which is fantastically done.

The author also does not shy away from the fact that the Reformers themselves were not perfect and may have believed and done questionable things, which I appreciate. While it is a flyover of an incredible amount of material, it is handled well and your child will know the basics of the Reformation after reading this outstanding book. I highly recommend this for your family!

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