post written by Emma Filbrun

Title: Nate Saint: Heavenbound
Author: Renee Taft Meloche
Series: Heroes for Young Readers Series
Major Themes: Missionaries, Pilots, South America, Ecuador, Auca Indians
Synopsis: The story of a famous missionary pilot, Nate Saint, told in rhyme and pictures.

Nate Saint: Heavenbound is a delightful picture book based on the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series book about Nate Saint. The story is told in rhyme, of how Nate was hooked on flying from a young age and then became a missionary. After developing ways of delivering needed supplies to missionaries in remote jungle areas, he helped in an attempt to reach the unreached Auca Indians in Ecuador. Anyone who is familiar with missions in the 20th century will know the end of that story.

The Heroes for Young Readers Series are a great introduction for young children to famous missionaries. I was impressed with the high quality of the sewed binding, and the lovely hard cover, as well as the nice illustrations.

WARNING: The scene at the end, where the five missionaries were killed by Auca spears, may be a bit graphic for some young children—parental guidance needed.

Read Aloud—Ages 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12

Links to buy Nate Saint: Heavenbound:

Amazon:

Hardcover

Keywords: Aucas, Ecuador, Missionaries, Missionary Pilots, Nate Saint, Pilots