Books published by publisher Bethlehem Books

In this second book about the Pierce family, more than five years have passed since their first moving into the Texas Panhandle. They have learned to live in a primitive sod house and have overcome—and even come to love—the odds that the land with its weather and unusual neighbors presents. Even so, 15-year-old Katie, gentle and artistic, is eager to return to East Texas to be schooled in all the finer things that this pioneer country lacks. Then an accident to Grandmother reverses everything! Katie, to her own surprise, finds herself volunteering to stay home to feed and care for Papa, the boys and Carolyn on the farm, while Mama makes the eastward journey to care for her mother. During the next few months, timid Katie encounters one distressful situation after another, from humiliating cooking disasters, to tough boys at school, to a battle with a blizzard. Despite fears and setbacks, she resolves to do whatever seems needed, acts which often turn out to contain a lot of heroism. As Katie’s confidence grows, so does her interaction with family and new and old friends deepen—all against the picturesque backdrop of homesteading life in the Texas Panhandle during the late 1800’s.

Amidst great mystery, Hugh is left in the care of Glastonbury Abbey by his father who must flee England too swiftly to be burdened by a crippled son. Ashamed of his physical weakness, yet possessed of a stout heart, Hugh finds that life at the abbey is surprisingly full in this year 1171, in the turbulent days of King Henry II. Hugh, his friend Dickon and their strange friend, the mad Bleheris, uncover a treasure trove and with it a deeper mystery of the sort that could only occur in Glastonbury where Joseph of Arimithea was said to have lived out his last years. Before all is done, more is resolved than Hugh could ever have hoped. A Newbery Honor winner.

Here are yet more of "those human and lovable people whose mysterious passion for God led them into preposterous escapades." Ethel Pochocki presents a follow-up collection of wildly distinctive saints-from Hyacinth to Zita to Longinus to Kentigern. Readers will again be charmed by the vivid immediacy of their settings. We find out what very real people they were, these saints who lived and breathed in a world as changeful as our own. Ethel Pochocki leads us through their adventures, joys and sorrows to the truly happy ending each one gained.

Rafael le Marre collects three companions whom he leads on an adventurous journey from Paris to Letzenstein. The Revolution of February, 1848, has erupted in France. Paul and Christie, both English, and Jeanne d'Estel of Valmay, have concerns of their own to pursue. But when the generous-hearted Rafael is arrested by political enemies, harrowing days follow. Important truths of character come to light, and Rafael's stature emerges: the "Phoenix" arises again from the ashes.

It has long been the custom for every 12-year-old girl from Philomena s village to go to the city to do service as housemaids before coming home to be married. But Philomena s aunt had gone and never returned. On her deathbed, Babushka instructs her little granddaughter to go to Prague and find her aunt, who must surely be rich now, and do service in her household. With the confidence that Babushka is still watching over her from heaven, Philomena travels to Prague, the city of a hundred spires. Once there, she bounces from one adventure into another as doors open and close and unconventional guidance from Babushka? moves her in ever new directions. Though Philomena may grow slightly impatient with Babushka s methods, she is steadily gaining experience, friends and pets! until unexpectedly she is able to accomplish her goal. Kate Seredy, renowned author and artist, brings to life both the characters and their setting of pre-World War I Czechoslovakia in this beautifully illustrated story of irrepressible Philomena.

It is 1847, a time of revolutions throughout Europe. Young Catherine Ayre has been called from her quiet home in England by a grandfather she scarcely knows, Grand Duke Edmond of Letzenstein. She becomes a pawn in the political unrest of the small country. Why does her grandfather so hate her uncle Constant, the rightful heir? And just who is Rafael le Marre? Catherine is swept into exciting adventures before she can feel herself a part of the small but fascinating country of Letzenstein.

Bonnie and Debbie’s desire to get rich causes them to respond to a sure-thing magazine advertisement. They are soon embarked upon an ambitious summer of selling “up and down the river.” Not that circumstances end quite in the way they had imagined! In a surprising flurry of trading, the girls somehow accumulate wealth in the form of unexpected friends, assorted animals, and unforeseen situations, even as their collection of dimes and dollars seem always to be slipping through their hands. Bonnie and Debbie Fairchild occupy center stage in this story of a summer season in the lovely hills of Kentucky of the early 1900’s. This is the Book 3 in the Fairchild Family series.

Jeanne Bendick, through text and pictures, admirably succeeds in bringing to life the ancient Greek mathematician who enriched mathematics and all branches of science. Against the backdrop of Archimedes' life and culture, the author discusses the man's work, his discoveries and the knowledge later based upon it. The simple, often humorous, illustrations and diagrams greatly enhance the text.

It is A. D. 311 in West Britain and even in this far-flung province of the Roman Empire Christians are not safe from renewed imperial persecution. At Caer Taff—modern-day Cardiff—a brief skirmish against a marauding tribe, the Deisi, develops into a more dangerous struggle between the new religion and the dominant pagan culture of the local Roman fort. Two friends, Julius and Con, meet and befriend Brychan, a young Christian priest, who is later captured and imprisoned at the base camp of the legion. Torn between obedience to parental orders and the demands of friendship, the boys resolve to help him escape. Aided by Aaron the Hebrew, a Roman soldier who has secretly converted to Christianity after witnessing the martyrdom of St. Alban seven years earlier, they set out to rescue Brychan—but with unexpectedly grave consequences. This thoughtful story highlights the boys’ courage, which will impact on all the characters involved. It also plays its part in bringing about the “spring tide” of hope that will eventually result in the Edict of Milan of A.D. 313—and religious tolerance for all Christians.

It is a good thing that mothers understand what no one else seems to when you are the youngest child in the family, and are finally four years old. Bonnie is more than ready to join her older sisters and brother in the many adventures she sees come their way, whether it be sliding along the ice, searching for arrowheads, or going on that journey of all journeys-across the swinging bridge to SCHOOL. Winter or summer, something is always happening in the Fairchild house, tucked amidst the pine trees of the Kentucky hills one hundred years ago or more. And, four years old or not, Bonnie usually manages to be in the middle of the action!

Thirteen-year-old Bani, though born in Jerusalem, has lived from infancy with his uncle in beautiful Susa, the city of the Persian King Artaxerxes. Now, his Uncle Nehemiah wants to leave his position of high honor as Cupbearer to the King to return to Jerusalem, a city in ruins and beset by every kind of trouble! Nehemiah's request of the king, permission to return to help his own people, could so easily—in an empire riddled with political intrigue—be misconstrued as treasonous scheming. Bani himself is given an unexpected part to play, the outcome of which is to forever change his life. Seen through the eyes of Bani, this novel dramatizes a turning-point of history, in 445 BC, when—through confrontation and daring risks—Judaism was re-established in the Promised Land, and purified for her unfolding mission.