Book · 12 chapters · 17 min read · Accessible
The Story of Amanda Smith (For Children)
Amanda Berry Smith · 1837–1915
Other editions
About this book
Meet Amanda Berry Smith, born into slavery in Maryland long, long ago, who grew up to trust God for everything — even a pair of shoes. In her own true stories, retold gently for children, a brave father buys his family free, a hidden man is kept safe, and one washerwoman carries the good news of Jesus all the way to England, India, and Africa.
Long ago, in a place called Maryland, a little girl named Amanda was born. In those sad days, Black families like hers were not free. They could be bought and sold, like a horse or a bag of grain, and they were made to work without any pay.
Contents
- 1 The Day Father Bought Us Free 1 min
- 2 Grandmother’s Prayers by the Dairy 1 min
- 3 The Man Hidden in the Bed 1 min
- 4 Learning to Read by the Window 1 min
- 5 Praying in the Cellar 1 min
- 6 The Money on the Kitchen Floor 1 min
- 7 Trusting God with the Baby 1 min
- 8 The Shoes She Prayed For 1 min
- 9 Afraid of the Deep Water 1 min
- 10 The Stolen Trunk 1 min
- 11 The Cart That Would Not Go 1 min
- 12 The Boy at the Gate 1 min
Questions and Answers
- Who was Amanda Berry Smith?
- She was a Black woman, born into slavery in Maryland around 1837, who grew up to become a well-known travelling preacher. She trusted God with everything and told people about Jesus in America, England, India, and Africa.
- Was Amanda really born a slave?
- Yes, she was. But her father, Samuel Berry, worked night after night to earn money and buy freedom — first his own, and then his wife’s and children’s. Amanda was still very small when he bought her free.
- What did Amanda do for work before she was a preacher?
- For many years she was a washerwoman. She stood at her washtub scrubbing other people’s clothes, sometimes all night long, to earn money and care for her family.
- Are the miracles in these stories made up?
- No. Every story comes from the book Amanda wrote about her own life. We have not added any pretend miracles — these are the real things she said God did for her.
- Why does Amanda talk to God about small things, like shoes?
- Amanda believed God cared about every part of her life, whether big or small. When her shoes wore out, she simply asked God, and a friend soon handed her exactly the money she needed.
- Did Amanda have a happy life?
- She knew great joy in God, but she also knew deep sorrow. Some of her little children died when they were very young, and people were often unkind to her. Yet she always said that God comforted her and never left her alone.
- Who was little Bob?
- Bob was a small boy in Africa whose father asked Amanda to raise him and teach him about God. Amanda was weak and had very little money, but she trusted God and took Bob as her very own child.
- What can children learn from Amanda’s life?
- That God can be trusted in the dark as well as in the light, that honesty and kindness are worth far more than money, and that God hears even the smallest prayer.