Journey alongside one of Christianity’s most courageous pioneers in Vance Christie’s biography for pre–teens, David Livingstone: Africa’s Greatest Explorer.
Born into humble beginnings in Scotland in 1813, Livingstone’s faith and passion for exploration shaped his extraordinary life.
Inspired by the Gospel’s call to serve others, Livingstone pursued a path of missionary work and exploration, driven by a deep conviction to share the love of Christ with those in distant lands. Despite facing adversity and hardship, he remained steadfast in his belief that God had called him to Africa to spread the message of salvation.
Livingstone encountered incredible challenges throughout his expeditions, from treacherous jungles to fierce wildlife, yet he persevered, trusting in God’s guidance every step of the way. His adventures led him to discover breath–taking natural wonders and to forge friendships with African tribes.
His legacy extends beyond his explorations: his unwavering commitment to ending the slave trade and uplifting the oppressed reflects his deep faith and compassion for humanity. Through his remarkable journey, Livingstone showed the power of God to transforming lives and shaping history. His story continues to inspire believers around the world to follow God’s call with courage and conviction.
The Trailblazer’s series collects great stories from Christians of the past and delivers them to the young people of today. This gripping and astonishing story from Vance Christie will challenge young readers to trust God as Livingstone did.
Christian Focus Publication’s Trailblazers Series:
- Well-known and long-standing series
- Over 50 titles
- Great for ages 9 to 14
- Published in 14 languages
- Half a million books sold
- Also available in box sets when one book is not enough! 7 themed box sets, each with 5 books
Each biography follows the trailblazer’s journey to faith, and on to the work that God had planned for them. With lots of dialogue, these engaging stories show how God uses normal individuals to bring about his purpose.
Each book features:
- Thinking Further Topics for each chapter to help readers think about how what they’ve read applies to their life today
- Timeline of important events in the lifetime of each book’s subject
Vance’s Story Behind the Book:
After I wrote and published a comprehensive adult biography on David Livingstone with Christian Focus Publications in 2023, CFP invited me to write a children’s biography on the eminent missionary and explorer to Africa. Realizing that my Livingstone adult biography was not suitable for young readers (including my own grandchildren), I readily agreed to write a brand new Livingstone biography intended especially for 3rd-8th graders. To be clear, this is a completely rewritten account of David’s life, not just a condensation of my earlier adult biography.
On the whole this was quite an easy book to write, and very enjoyable. Since I had previously researched and written an extensive volume on Livingstone, the hard work was already done. All I needed to do was select the highlights that (1) would best summarize and represent the key aspects of David’s life and (2) would be of interest and benefit to young readers.
The most challenging aspect of writing this youth biography was deciding which material would be included or omitted. Livingstone’s life was so full of important and interesting events that only a relatively small percentage of them could be included in this brief work. Even after being highly selective in what I included in the first draft of the manuscript, I still ended up needing to edit out some 10,000 words (around 30 double-spaced typed pages), which was more than twenty percent of what I originally composed for the kids book.
I consciously worked at presenting the story in a fashion that would be engaging and readily understandable to readers as young as the third grade. But that was not overly difficult because David’s entire life and career were laced with adventures, difficulties and dangers, as well as interesting and exciting events. I definitely followed the publisher’s guidance to include plenty of action and dialogue. And the Christian Focus editors did a great job of helping me clarify anything that needed it.
Throughout this entire process I have been delighted to think of many, many youth (1) enjoying learning about Livingstone’s remarkable, eventful life and (2) being encouraged and strengthened in their own spiritual life and service for the Lord by considering David’s commendable example. May it be so to God’s great glory!
Vance’s related blogs on the David Livingstone Trailblazer biography:
- David Livingstone Youth Biography Update
- Reasons to Read My New David Livingstone Youth Biography
- Announcing: My Forthcoming David Livingstone Youth Biography
- Reasons to Read My New David Livingstone Youth Biography
Publisher: Christian Focus Publications
Publication Date: September 2024
Page Count: 160
Format: Pocket Paperback
ISBN: 9781527111639
Where to Buy: