Are you looking for a book about the Civil Rights Movement in America with a Christian worldview?
Do you want to teach your kids about a hard time in history from the perspective of a godly Christian woman who fought for the rights of people both in and out of the womb?
Fannie Lou Hamer for Children
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) became a civil rights leader beginning in 1962 when she was denied the right to vote. She led the marches to push for voting rights in Mississippi, singing hymns to the Lord. Hamer also ran for the U.S. Senate and lost, spoke against abortion at the White House, and established a pig bank which allowed poor sharecroppers to develop a herd of their own pigs.
Fannie Lou Hamer was a Baptist. She improved her reading skills as a young teen in adult Bible study, learning what Scripture had to say about salvation, freedom, and justice. She loved Christian hymns, especially “This Little Light of Mine,” and she sang them as she taught Sunday School and led marches for voting rights.
For her service to the Lord, Fannie Lou Hamer suffered terribly, in ways most of us would rather not even imagine. Even so, she continued to serve people and love them. Here marching orders were from Proverbs 14:34. In the ESV, it says:
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Fannie Lou Hamer Biography by K.A. Ellis
K.A. Ellis tells the story of Fannie Lou Hamer for children in a way that’s uplifting. Briefly detailing Hamer’s life as a child and her service teaching Sunday School, Ellis then focuses on the last fifteen years of Hamer’s life, when she led her marchers, called “the Freedom Fighters.” They sang hymns, prayed, and marched for freedom.
Fannie Lou Hamer was jailed, beaten, her home was bombed, and so she prayed. She kept marching, and she spoke at the White House. Finally, black Americans were allowed to vote.
Ellis gently explains that Hamer could not have her own children because she was hurt badly by people who hated her. (Her careful explanation of forced sterilization is perfect for young kids.) So, she and her husband prayed and they were given four children through adoption by God. She wrote and spoke against abortion. And, she helped those who lived in the poverty of sharecropping to develop their own sustainable crops, and to fill their pig pens with piglets.
The book includes a timeline, and a link to great notebooking resources about the book.
Fannie Lou Hamer: The Courageous Woman Who Marched for Dignity by K.A. Ellis is a wonderful picture book about a woman who loved Jesus and loved her neighbors with her whole heart.
Do Great Things for God Series
The Good Book Company has a growing series of these great Christian history books for kids. Check them out!
I’d like to thank The Good Book Company for sending me Fannie Lou Hamer in return for my honest review.
Learn more about the Who What Why series and get your FREE Abolition Lapbooks here.
Bible Resources for Your Kids
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Christian Biographies for Kids | Christian History for Kids | Theology for Kids
Christian History Matters for Our Kids.
History matters. Now, more than ever, we see how important it is for our children to know and understand history and the Bible.
Here’s why:
- God is the sovereign ruler of all things. It’s important for our kids to see his hand in the history of nations and in the lives of both peasants and kings.
- Christian history is the story of our family history. Our kids get to see how people who love Jesus follow him.
- Understanding history can help our kids learn historic and biblical theology. They learn what the Bible says and what that means for us. They also see when the study of Scripture has taken important turns that have changed the Church.
- Reading Christian biographies and history can be a wonderful way for kids to think outside their own time and culture. God’s Church spans centuries and includes people from every nation.
- Christian biographies help kids consider their own faith, walk with Jesus, and the impact their witness may one day have on others–and on history.
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