Title: Thunderstorm in Church
Author: Louise A. Vernon
Major Themes: Martin Luther
Synopsis: Martin Luther’s son finds it hard to be expected to follow in the footsteps of his famous father.
I’ve been reading books about the Reformation to my boys lately. We read a biography of Martin Luther recently, and then I followed up with a couple of historical novels about the great reformer. Thunderstorm in Church tells the story of the Father of the Reformation from the point of view of his oldest son, Hans.
Hans loves his father, but he is somewhat in awe of him. And he is tired of people asking him what he will be when he grows up! He is just sure that Father knew from early on what he would be; why doesn’t Hans know? And what about these rumors that Father was a runaway monk, and had married a runaway nun? The hordes of visitors that constantly crowded the Black Cloister, where the Luther family lives, were sometimes annoying. How was Hans to cope with it all?
I found Thunderstorm in Church to be a lot less interesting than most of Vernon’s books. A good deal of the story is told by quoting Luther’s own words. While this makes for historical accuracy, it also means that the story doesn’t move very fast. There isn’t a lot of plot to it. We read the whole book, but I didn’t get a lot of enthusiasm from my boys.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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