When Annie Kate sent me a link to her review of Raising Real Men,  she mentioned that I might like the Scout series by Piet Prins. Was she ever right! We just finished reading Scout: The Secret of the Swamp and absolutely loved it! Full of adventure and excitement, it’s sure to be a favorite of any boy – or girl!

The Secret of the Swamp, the first book in the Scout series describes how Scout became Tom’s dog and how he was trained. The first few chapters deal with the young Tom and his first adventure with Scout, which is very exciting, but you better not read past page 25 if you want to put down this book anytime soon! After that, we move to Tom’s middle school years in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation and the storyline is thrilling. I was exhausted the night I started reading it and planned to go to bed early, but I just couldn’t – it was too good to put down.

There are several things I love about this Scout book. Tom has a great relationship with his parents and they are portrayed as godly, wise, and loving, as are the other Christian parents in the book. Also, when Tom is foolhardy and doesn’t seek his parent’s advice, he is rebuked, and I really like that! The setting, too, deals with another issue you see in fiction for boys – How could a well-taken-care-of boy ever get in a jam like that? In the midst of a war, even a walk to a friend’s house isn’t without risk. Tom and his friends are likeable, the enemies are historically accurate and genuinely bad, and Tom’s help is in the Lord. How can you beat that?

Piet Prins is the pen name of Pieter Jongeling, a Dutch statesman, international correspondent, and teacher, and the books were originally written in Dutch. It’s an excellent translation, though, very smooth and readable to the point that you’re a little surprised when you realize they are in The Netherlands!

Get it Free!

This is a great Christmas present for your sons! And, this is really exciting, you can get it free! If you buy at least one other book, Inheritance Publications will send you a free copy of their special catalog edition of Scout: The Secret of the Swamp! They’ve done an edition with the Inheritance Publications catalog printed in the center of the book (it’s the complete book) and you won’t mind at all – it is one terrific catalog! If you love godly historical fiction like we do, you are going to be amazed. There are multiple books about the heroic William of Orange, a whole series about the Huguenots, books set in Bible times, and those on the the mission field in Africa and the Outback. A treasure store!

And when you hear about the story of the publishing company, you begin to understand why. It all began in 1980 when Roelof Janssen immigrated to western Canada from the Netherlands and began a ministry traveling from home to home selling good Christian music and a few books. He was a colporteur, just like those you may have read about Spurgeon supporting! In order to provide more great Christian books, Mr. Janssen started a publishing house, Inheritance Publications. The Lord has blessed his faithfulness and today Roelof, his wife Theresa, and their ten homeschooled children publish a wide array of Christian literature, music, and non-fiction.

I corresponded with them recently and was intrigued by their family. They live in a Dutch settlement in Alberta called Neerlandia and they speak Dutch at home. Their children all have either Christian historical names or family names just like ours do! The children, again like ours, help out in the family business, even helping with translations. I was delighted to hear that when they found an English translation of a Dutch book they loved and found that many of the Christian references had been removed, they retranslated the book as needed to restore the original godly message.

I seriously urge you to head out to the Inheritance Publications website, check out their titles and place a Christmas order! If you mail them a check, they have a flat $5 shipping fee no matter what you order. And don’t forget, Scout: The Secret of the Swamp is free with purchase of another book!

Scout: Secret of the Swamp by Piet Prins, Inheritance Publications, English catalog edition, 2006, 223 pg including 80 pg catalog. $8.90, free with purchase.

We received a free review copy of this book from Inheritance Publications in return for our always honest review.

Thank you to Pieter H.C. de Vries for the photo of Pieter Jongeling, through Wikimedia Commons.