My friend Susan recently shared that there was a new children’s book about Elisabeth Elliot: Elisabeth Elliot: The Brave Girl Who Chose to Love by Ellen Vaughn, who wrote a two-volume biography of Elisabeth a few years ago.

I’ve considered Elisabeth my “mentor from afar” for decades, so I was delighted to learn there was a children’s book about her. The story is written for 4-7-year-olds, though I am sure older children would enjoy it as well.

The book provides a very simple overview of Elisabeth’s life, from the time her parents hosted missionaries in their home, which inspired Elisabeth, to her marriage to Jim, their ministry in Ecuador, and the birth of their daughter, Valerie. Jim’s death is shared straightforwardly. The name of the tribe who killed him is shortened to “Wao” here. Elisabeth later decides to try to tell the tribe that Jim loved about Jesus, thinking maybe “they won’t be scared of a woman and a little girl.”

After a few years, Elisabeth and Valerie leave for the United States so Valerie could go to school. The rest of Elisabeth’s life is summed up in a couple of paragraphs.

The author shares Isaiah 43:2 at intervals as something Elisabeth leaned on when she was tempted to fear: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (NIV).

At the end of the book are questions to think about, a timeline of her life, a world map that notes where significant parts of Elisabeth’s life took place, and a link to some printable pages that children can draw on or fill in.

The illustrations by Emma Randall are nicely done and not “silly.”

This is a great introduction to Elisabeth’s life for children, touching on themes of missionary service, forgiveness, and trusting God when afraid.

I can happily recommend this book.

I noticed it was part of a “Do Great Things for God” series by The Good Book Company. There are fifteen books in the series so far, on people like C. S. Lewis, John Knox, Susannah Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, Queen Elizabeth, and others, some of whom I had never heard of. I’m excited to see these biographies being made available for very young children.