The Vanishings (Left Behind: The Kids #1) Mass Market Paperback – July 1, 1998

First: I love that it's free. It gives many the opportunity to read it.Second: Despite many worried parents about the 'grown up nature' of the book, or how it seems to use scare tactics, let me say: it doesn't.I am 19 now. I am becoming an author, a full-time missionary, I'm a Spiritual Advisor for many, and I have brought people whom others would believe hopeless, to Christ. I have kept myself pure in every sense of the word: no drugs, alcohol, extra-marital relations, etc. Granted, that is not simply due to this book, but it is a factor.I was 7 when I read this book. I had already seen Left Behind, and the Helen Hannah series (Tribulation, Judgment, etc), and I wanted to read the Left behind series, but was intimidated by the size of the books. So when I saw "The Kids" at Wal-Mart, I convinced my mom to buy it. She and I read it together at the same time. She didn't read ahead, and we didn't need to talk about any 'scary things' that happened, because the book shows that because of God, they need not worry.This book doesn't use scare tactics to whip a child into perfection. Instead, it shows how kids their age (at the edge of what is known as 'the age of accountability'), are being touched by the world, and if they let the world guide them away from God, not necessarily in lifestyle, but in faith, their life could end up downhill. But it doesn't threaten them with it. It takes them by the hand and says "God loves you. He doesn't want anything like this to happen to you. Be steadfast in faith, and you will be safe." and that lesson I learned, from this and other sources, have made me the strong Christian I am today.As for the seeming `grown up nature', it is not so. The series takes things that happen in the real world, things that an 8 year old has already been exposed to or will be forced to face by the world within a year: the concepts of loss and death, Love, Anger, Peer Pressure, Freedom, Truth, Lies, Standing Up for What you Believe in, and Not Letting the Devil Win in Your Life. These are things that is best shown to them by a Christian source instead of the Secular World. This book takes these things and breaks it to them gently, but still strong enough so that they understand. In doing so, it encourages them to grow properly in life and in spirit. The whole series does that, this being the first step. So as not to bombard the children with them, they touch on these subjects slowly.If you feel the need, read along with your child. If they need to talk, then be there. This is the type of book that encourages growth. It teaches children to be above the world, not of it. Even in the face of ridicule and Danger. It teaches them that God comes first in all things. That simple lesson, taught to a child in a way that only something that truly engages them can do, will encourage their faith to be strong.

Read this series years ago and it was calling out to me to read it again.Mr. Lehaye brings the bible to life.This is obviously fiction, but it realistically portrays the events that most likely will occur directly after the rapture.I am moving on to book 2.This series was written for kids. There is another Left Behind series Mr. Lehaye write for adults, but at 61 years of age I am enjoying both.

My daughter read this book for a book report and she absolutely loved it!!

"The Vanishings" is the first book in the Left Behind series that features four kids of varying spiritual knowledge before they were left behind. Judd is on the plane Ray is flying. It's really interesting how they meet Bruce as well. But most frightening of all is how they slowly realize what a disaster they're living in now that the worst evil the world has ever seen has been released, along with natural disasters. It's interesting to see the End Times from the perspective of four teenagers and not just through adults' eyes!This is a great, exciting read, and the rest of the series is just as fun. Kids should read these! Some cover one event over several novels, sometimes one book in the series is the entire event. I recommend these for young readers who want to read a Rapture-Left Behind perspective. I think that though it does show invoke fear, it also makes readers realize they don't have as much time as they think they have to accept Christ - you know what ... something is going to happen when Christ returns, and when you literally read the book of Revelation, though some of the novels are far-fetched, some are pretty spot on, and follow a basic idea: don't get left behind, because it will be seven of the worst years in the history of humankind, maybe the only other worst time was probably the three days Christ was dead and buried before he rose again.