Polycarp The Crown of Fire by William Chad Newsom*

My eleven year old read this book to himself to support his study of Ancient Rome during the time of Christian persecution. 
Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, choose to follow Christ no matter what.  Although he never met Christ, he was a disciple of Apostle John.
This book offers a lot of details about his life and the people with whom he interacted and influenced.
Strategies: monitoring reading/check for understanding (The story is not always told chronologically.).
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.