Crusade of Tears A Novel of the Children Crusade The Journey of Souls Series Book 1 edition by C D Baker Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Crusade of Tears A Novel of the Children Crusade The Journey of Souls Series Book 1 edition by C D Baker Literature Fiction eBooks 
'Crusade of Tears' is an astonishing tale of courage, perseverance and faith surrounding the tragedy of the Children's Crusade of 1212 in which thousands of German children crossed the Alps in a heart-wrenching attempt to rescue Jerusalem from Islam. C.D. Baker paints a masterful portrait of the times, one that blends meticulously researched historical accounts with a compelling plot and an unforgettable assortment of characters.
This life-changing story of the redemptive power of suffering speaks to young and old from across the centuries and far into the future.
'Crusade of Tears' is written in a style reminiscent of the great classics. It is the first of three volumes that make up the 'Journey of Souls Series.' Suitable for readers twelve to adult.
Crusade of Tears A Novel of the Children Crusade The Journey of Souls Series Book 1 edition by C D Baker Literature Fiction eBooks
Historically speaking, it is rather doubtful that there ever was a real "Children's Crusade" that intended to reach Jerusalem and take back the city, while converting the Muslims. There has been much written on this topic, but of contemporary sources from the 1212 era, there are only about 50 references to it, and some are only a sentence long. Modern historians and scholars are more of the opinion that this was not so much a "children's crusade" as it was more of a motley crew of the dispossessed and poverty stricken in France and Germany, and mostly adults, who traversed southwards. Some wanted to reach the Holy Land while others were simply wandering hordes, trying to fill their bellies during a time when lords, nobles, and kings ruled the land and the landless had nothing.The author, C.D. Baker, admits that he wrote the book as the result of a personal spiritual crisis of some sort. In reading his introduction, it is quite obvious that Baker was very spiritually motivated, and there is the underlying desire to spread the word of God. There is certainly nothing wrong with his motives, and the resultant story, while always reiterating the undercurrent theme of "it's not the end of the journey which is important, but what you learn about yourself ON the journey, that counts," is not terribly distracting.
This is the story of a group of children from Germany who, through the urging of their local priest, and oddly, of their parents, take off to find the Holy Land. They are all poor, and range in age from about 8 years old to possibly 14. They leave their home as a group on foot, with absolutely no planning, no idea of where they actually need to go to get to the Holy Land, only enough food that they can carry, no change of clothes, and no means to start fires or kill game. An absolutely STUPID undertaking!
But, shortly into their misadventures, they meet up with an aged priest who is sort of a nomadic wanderer, fed up with the papal laws and the monastery to which he was attached. He takes off on his own and apparently has wandered through France, Germany, and Italy, as he seems quite conversant in those three languages as well as Latin. He name is Pieter. Pieter realizes that this "children's crusade" is an impossible feat, but he decides to take this group of a few dozen children under his wing and accompany them all the way to Genoa, Italy, where the children fully believe the sea will part as the Red Sea did for Moses, and they will walk across to the Holy Land!
The entire story is fraught with incredible danger and cruelty to the children, but Pieter always seems to have a trick up his sleeve to rescue them from one bad group of people or another. However, we do find children dying along the way. Disease, floods, you name it. They will encounter it!
Along the way the children grow spiritually thanks to the gentle teachings of Pieter. He teaches them about God, but he does so in a very unprepossessing way. He guides the children and subtly brings God's message to them.
I am not a believer in any sort of a higher power, yet I was not disturbed by the christian message in this book. One must look at it in the context of the time period it covered. During the 13th Century the church was more powerful than the kings. It pervaded every aspect of life. In one chapter of the book it was mentioned that in a certain village the local priest had ordained that commoners could no longer get married unless it was by a priest, and then that priest charged a good deal of money to perform the rites. It was this kind of control that was pervasive. But it was also fear and an unshakable belief in God which motivated these people.
The book was well-written. The language was flowery, but it seemed to fit the time period. One of the more positive aspects of this book was the in-depth descriptions of life during the early 13th Century. In reading it, I felt that I could almost "see" the forests, villages, castles and keeps, sense the fear of battle, feel the pangs of hunger, taste the moldy crusts of bread and hear the chatter of the peasants as they tended their stalls in little villages with smoke lazily drifting skyward from cooking fires. The author did an excellent job with bringing us to the scene of the story.
The characters, as well, were extremely fleshed out. We see the young, angry boy Wil leave his village with his younger brother and sister. He carries a chip on his shoulder and is angry at the world and inexperienced in the ways of leadership, but through certain experiences he grows and changes before our eyes. He takes command of his band of children. He learns through experience. He grows spiritually. He develops a conscience, and he finds courage. Pieter, the priest, is also an exceptionally well-developed character. The reader can not only get an excellent idea of what he looks like, but can also develop an emotional attachment to him.
There are a few reasons I gave this book three stars rather than four. First, it was rambling at times. It seemed that over and over again the children would get into a sticky wicket and then miraculously get out of it. This gets old after a while.
Another thing that bothered me was the time lapse. There is no concrete idea of how long this group of kids were actually on this incredible journey. I really should have marked down each time night fell and they went to sleep! I would have liked that if somewhere the author had said, "The children were now into their fifth week since leaving their homes...." or something of that nature. This may not bother other readers, but I sort of like to know these things.
I was also getting a little weary of the length of the book. It seemed that one mishap after another similar mishap got a little tedious at the 70% mark. I started to feel that as I started a new chapter and a new calamity occurred I was saying to myself, "Oh dear... here we go again."
A rating of three stars, I see, means "It's OK." Four stars means "I like it." Well, I did like it, because it was "OK." It was different. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would! Will I be reading the next book in this series? No, I won't. When I found myself getting weary towards the last 20% of the book, I knew I didn't want to get involved in another like it. But I would certainly recommend this first one! Then you can decide for yourself if you want to go on to the second one.
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Crusade of Tears A Novel of the Children Crusade The Journey of Souls Series Book 1 edition by C D Baker Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Baker has taken a sad time in history and written an engaging story about a small group of children and an old itinerate priest that walk from Germany to Genoa. Cleverly, interesting theology is introduced as the group suffers hunger, privation and death. I do not call this a grim book because of the character development and the religious slant.
The author brings a human face to this tragic event and the story is well-crafted and it is obvious the story is told from the heart. I knew little of the Children's Crusade other than a basic concept of what happened, so it was like pulling a curtain away as the story unfolded.The characters are believable and I cared about what happened to them. I will definitely read the other installments of this touching tale.
This book has a promising beginning. Three children whose mother is very ill, father deceased, having a difficult time existing. The eldest, a teenage boy, is caught up in a double murder, and the Crusade is his siblings and his only way out. Unfortunately, once the crusade begins, the story line slows down with rather dull tales of their daily struggles to feed themselves and the continuously growing number of other children who join the march. Could not retain my interest enough to finish the book. Do not recommend.
Epic tale of the children's crusade -- a little known part of history -- It's 1212 when bands of northern European children start walking toward Genoa hoping to reach the holy land where they are convinced by traveling rebel-rowsers that the little ones can melt the hearts of the infidel. the book is long but because of the story line and the love the reader has for the characters it doesn't seem like 600 pages.
In C.D. Baker's novel Crusade of Tears, readers will follow in the footsteps of a ragtag group of German children on their way to Jerusalem during the Children's Crusade. There is adventure, twists, and moments that give readers pause as the heartbreaking events of this ill-fated mission unfold.
However, the author is careful to show how God's mercy overcomes the hardships and trials the children face. Moreover, the good and bad memories of their previous lives inform and add color to the young Crusaders' profiles, which provides an emotional connection to the characters.
Pieter the Broken is their one-toothed chaplain, mentor, and encourager for this band of would-be rescuers. He is gifted with an expected wisdom, but a mild cunning that none would expect in a priest, though, the author's tone seems to portray him as a character to whom we all could identify - a man through whom God still desires to work, despite his shortcomings.
This novel is a positive and uplifting read, which will delight readers, young and old alike.
I very much enjoyed this book. The year 735. The story of a Christian group of German children who journeyed to Palestine as Crusaders. A child's vision foretold that the children-Crusaders' weapon of purity would defeat the Islamic infidels rather than continued bloody wars. A vagabond priest who became disgruntled with the way of the church happens upon the beginnings of the group & eventually joins them on their journey. The priest & the children Crusaders share in the trials & tribulations of the trip to Palestine. Along the way the priest teaches the children the meaning & nature of God. A great story!!
I downloaded this book free on the Buffet. I thought it would be "interesting". I had NO idea it would be as inspiring as it was! It guides you to look into your own understanding and ideas of your own life & faith and gives you many things to consider.
It would be a great book to read in a group for study. Both historically & religiously. I think it would be a wonderful Bible Study project for a early teen and teen church group. As well as Adult study group.
I would hope the religious aspects of this book will not stop some from reading it. It is worthy of a good review for its own sake, alone.
Historically speaking, it is rather doubtful that there ever was a real "Children's Crusade" that intended to reach Jerusalem and take back the city, while converting the Muslims. There has been much written on this topic, but of contemporary sources from the 1212 era, there are only about 50 references to it, and some are only a sentence long. Modern historians and scholars are more of the opinion that this was not so much a "children's crusade" as it was more of a motley crew of the dispossessed and poverty stricken in France and Germany, and mostly adults, who traversed southwards. Some wanted to reach the Holy Land while others were simply wandering hordes, trying to fill their bellies during a time when lords, nobles, and kings ruled the land and the landless had nothing.
The author, C.D. Baker, admits that he wrote the book as the result of a personal spiritual crisis of some sort. In reading his introduction, it is quite obvious that Baker was very spiritually motivated, and there is the underlying desire to spread the word of God. There is certainly nothing wrong with his motives, and the resultant story, while always reiterating the undercurrent theme of "it's not the end of the journey which is important, but what you learn about yourself ON the journey, that counts," is not terribly distracting.
This is the story of a group of children from Germany who, through the urging of their local priest, and oddly, of their parents, take off to find the Holy Land. They are all poor, and range in age from about 8 years old to possibly 14. They leave their home as a group on foot, with absolutely no planning, no idea of where they actually need to go to get to the Holy Land, only enough food that they can carry, no change of clothes, and no means to start fires or kill game. An absolutely STUPID undertaking!
But, shortly into their misadventures, they meet up with an aged priest who is sort of a nomadic wanderer, fed up with the papal laws and the monastery to which he was attached. He takes off on his own and apparently has wandered through France, Germany, and Italy, as he seems quite conversant in those three languages as well as Latin. He name is Pieter. Pieter realizes that this "children's crusade" is an impossible feat, but he decides to take this group of a few dozen children under his wing and accompany them all the way to Genoa, Italy, where the children fully believe the sea will part as the Red Sea did for Moses, and they will walk across to the Holy Land!
The entire story is fraught with incredible danger and cruelty to the children, but Pieter always seems to have a trick up his sleeve to rescue them from one bad group of people or another. However, we do find children dying along the way. Disease, floods, you name it. They will encounter it!
Along the way the children grow spiritually thanks to the gentle teachings of Pieter. He teaches them about God, but he does so in a very unprepossessing way. He guides the children and subtly brings God's message to them.
I am not a believer in any sort of a higher power, yet I was not disturbed by the christian message in this book. One must look at it in the context of the time period it covered. During the 13th Century the church was more powerful than the kings. It pervaded every aspect of life. In one chapter of the book it was mentioned that in a certain village the local priest had ordained that commoners could no longer get married unless it was by a priest, and then that priest charged a good deal of money to perform the rites. It was this kind of control that was pervasive. But it was also fear and an unshakable belief in God which motivated these people.
The book was well-written. The language was flowery, but it seemed to fit the time period. One of the more positive aspects of this book was the in-depth descriptions of life during the early 13th Century. In reading it, I felt that I could almost "see" the forests, villages, castles and keeps, sense the fear of battle, feel the pangs of hunger, taste the moldy crusts of bread and hear the chatter of the peasants as they tended their stalls in little villages with smoke lazily drifting skyward from cooking fires. The author did an excellent job with bringing us to the scene of the story.
The characters, as well, were extremely fleshed out. We see the young, angry boy Wil leave his village with his younger brother and sister. He carries a chip on his shoulder and is angry at the world and inexperienced in the ways of leadership, but through certain experiences he grows and changes before our eyes. He takes command of his band of children. He learns through experience. He grows spiritually. He develops a conscience, and he finds courage. Pieter, the priest, is also an exceptionally well-developed character. The reader can not only get an excellent idea of what he looks like, but can also develop an emotional attachment to him.
There are a few reasons I gave this book three stars rather than four. First, it was rambling at times. It seemed that over and over again the children would get into a sticky wicket and then miraculously get out of it. This gets old after a while.
Another thing that bothered me was the time lapse. There is no concrete idea of how long this group of kids were actually on this incredible journey. I really should have marked down each time night fell and they went to sleep! I would have liked that if somewhere the author had said, "The children were now into their fifth week since leaving their homes...." or something of that nature. This may not bother other readers, but I sort of like to know these things.
I was also getting a little weary of the length of the book. It seemed that one mishap after another similar mishap got a little tedious at the 70% mark. I started to feel that as I started a new chapter and a new calamity occurred I was saying to myself, "Oh dear... here we go again."
A rating of three stars, I see, means "It's OK." Four stars means "I like it." Well, I did like it, because it was "OK." It was different. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would! Will I be reading the next book in this series? No, I won't. When I found myself getting weary towards the last 20% of the book, I knew I didn't want to get involved in another like it. But I would certainly recommend this first one! Then you can decide for yourself if you want to go on to the second one.
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