The Heart Changer ( A Homeschool Crew Review )

My family loves books.  My oldest daughter can go through a 500 page book in less than a day if given the option. On average, I read roughly 60 books a year.  I have tried really hard to pass my love of reading on to my children and have seen Ashleigh begin to enjoy books more and more and I believe there's still hope for Garrett as I find himself drawn more and more into the stories we read aloud during our reading time.

Occasionally, we find a book that the entire family can enjoy together and so we are able to sit down as a family and read a chapter or two aloud together, discuss what was read and hopefully find a valuable lesson to learn from among the pages.   Recently, my family had the opportunity to read aloud the book  The Heart Changer , the debut novel from Jarm Del Boccio, Author  and found it to be a book that offered something for each member of my family to learn from.

The Heart Changer

by Jarm Del Boccio 

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade 

ISBN: 9781620208687

112 pages

The Heart Changer is the fictionalized retelling of the story of  Naaman, the Syrian Army Commander from 2 Kings whom was told to bathe in the Jordan seven times to be cleaned of Leprosy.  The story is told from the perspective of Miriam, a twelve year old Israeli girl captured during a raid on her village and brought into Syria.  Forced to serve as maidservant to the wive of the Commander who led the raid that could possible have killed her family, Miriam is full of anger and resentment.  Faced with a hostile rival as well as her own bitterness towards her new master, Miriam faces the unknown and feelings that the Lord has either abandoned her or her lack of strong faith brought down his punishment upon her.  Little does she knows he instead is preparing her for a greater mission - beyond what she could have imagined.

This historical fiction selection is appropriate for readers 7-12 and a free teacher's guide is available for digital download.

About Jarm Del Boccio (Author)

Jarm (’J’ pronounced as a ‘Y’) Del Boccio is a former teacher and librarian, and a current teacher at SchoolhouseTeachers.com,  Jarm’s passion is to make the Bible and history come alive for her readers. She believes that with the inspiration of the past, children can be come heroes of their own stories.  Jarm is content with the journey God has placed her on, and lives with her husband, son and daughter (when they are at home) in a tree-lined suburb of Chicago. 

Our Opinion

We really enjoyed using this book as a read aloud for family time each afternoon.  The story was simply written and easy to understand for the kids but wasn't "kiddiefied" to the extent that the adults of the family would zone out while we read it.   The story really pulled everyone in and kept everyone's attention.

The theme of how God can create change in your heart is ever present in the story, as it is shown  using several different characters. How Miriam's heart changed towards Naaman and his wife, towards another young servant in the household (and the change in the heart of that servant towards Miriam as well), and ultimately the change in the hearts of Naaman and his wife, each play a significant role in the story.  Ultimately, this is a story about forgiveness and putting our faith in the plans that the Lord has for us.

To find out more information about Jarn Del Boccio and The Heart Changer, be sure to visit the author's website. You can find out more information  at the following social media sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JarmDelBoccio/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/JarmVee

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIcs5IpR56kqsj1z4Co2Bew?view_as=subscriber+%28Jarm+Del+Boccio%2C+Author%29

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarmdelboccio/

Be sure to click the banner below to read what other members of the Crew thought of 
The Heart Changer