Books for Reformation Day

Reformation day is two weeks away. We always make a big deal of it in our house as it marks a point in history when the gospel was recovered and renewal came to the church. As a resource, in case you want some books for your family on the Reformation, here is a listing of book I have previously reviewed on this blog which connect to the Reformation (links take you to my reviews).

The two main names which people know of from the Reformation are Martin Luther and John Calvin.  In a recent post I summarized the different books I have reviewed on Calvin.  On Luther, Paul Maier’s Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World is an excellent, beautifully illustrated book.  Virgil Robinson’s Luther, The Leader is less engaging but solid. Most recently Luther: Echoes of the Hammer provides a factually solid telling of Luther’s story in graphic novel format.

Louise Vernon  has also written a biography of Luther as well as Tyndale, Erasmus, Gutenberg, and Wycliffe. These are good short introductions to each of these key leaders.

Diana Kleyn’s Reformation Heroes is a wonderful resource providing brief overviews of over 30 leaders, many of whom are often unnoticed (a full list of names is provided in the review). William Boekestein has written a nice biography of Guido de Bres, author of the Belgic Confession, for younger children.

Lastly, regular readers of this blog will know that Douglas Bond is one of our family’s favorite authors. Bond’s Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation is great story and wonderful introduction to the songs which played a key part in the Reformation as congregational singing was recovered.

I hope these recommendations might help your family in remembering God’s mighty works in the past as we raise our children anticipating God’s work in the future.