Maier's biography of Martin Luther was beautifully illustrated by Greg Copeland. Although a brief mention is made of his life prior to his teenage years, the main story begins with his schooling in Magdeburg and Eisenach and then university studies. It discusses his decision to become a monk and the encouragement at his monastery to study the Scripture for himself. In the Scriptures he saw Christianity presented differently than he saw Catholic Church practice at the time. He posted his 95 theses and the Reformation was born. The book discusses how his differences with the Catholic Church endangered his life. It discusses his hymn writing, his marriage to Katie, and his teaching and writings. The vocabulary level probably exceeds that of children for whom this otherwise might be a good book. Perhaps it would work best as a read-aloud where the reader can explain some of the words. ( )

A good short book on the life of Martin Luther; good details and beautiful drawings. ( )

Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World by Paul L. Maier. Library Section: 10 A: Youth (grades 6 - 8), Religion and Values. This picture book for catechumen-age youth is an illustrated biography of the life of Martin Luther, leader of the Reformation. It is published by Concordia, the publisher of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The pictures help to explain what Luther did and what the world was like when he was alive. The last page discusses what makes a person “great” and the fact that Luther was one of the greatest people who ever lived because he so significantly changed the way people worshiped, the way they thought of the Bible (they could read it in their own language, German, thanks to Luther), the way they thought of their church, and the way they interacted with their God. Inside the front and rear covers is a map of Luther’s Germany (1483-1546) with important sites in his life marked.
Maier is an author of religious books, some for children include stories about Easter and Christmas with lavishly painted, extremely realistic illustrations. I wish I’d had this book as a youth because some of the things Luther did are not so easily understood by kids. For example, what was the Diet of Worms? Did Luther eat worms?!? No, a Diet was a gathering of the emperor, his court and church leaders. They met at a German city called Worms. Luther was forced to appear before them and take back everything he’d said about the wrongs the Catholic church had been doing. He said he could not take back what he’d said because it would go against his conscience. So the Diet declared him an outlaw and he could have been shot on sight. But friends “kidnapped” him and took him to Wartburg Castle where he spent his time wisely, translating the New Testament into German so any everyday German person could read it for himself. No longer would Germans have to depend on priests to read the Bible and Latin and translate it for the people, putting their own spin on its verses. Luther knew that education was key to the Reformation. This is why I advocate reading so much. In our day, as in Luther’s day, the ability to read and comprehend well what is read, is the key to a successful and rich life.
If your child is younger than 12, you can read this book along with your younger child and discuss what Luther did. It will give our children a good idea of a person who followed his conscience and God’s will. Awesome! ( )

Paul L. Maier has written Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World. This is a wonderful, easy to read and well illustrated biography about Martin Luther and the reformation. It is found in the library under J/920/Mai.