Stories Change Hearts

Are you a parent who wants to communicate important life and character lessons to the hearts of your children?

Are you a teacher looking for the secret to getting your teaching from your children’s short-term memory into their long-term memory?

Do you want to reach the hearts of those you are teaching?

I believe stories change hearts.

What if you could send your teaching straight into your child’s long-term memory?

What if you could use the Master Teacher’s method to reach the hearts of those you are teaching?

That is why I write exciting read-aloud stories.

Find My Books

Hello, I’m Alan W. Harris.

I am a retired veterinarian and a home-schooling father of six. I first wrote The Tales of Larkin to read to my own children. Because our family was so blessed by the discussions that followed each family read-aloud time, my wife Valerie and I decided that we wanted to do more than just share these character-building stories with others. We wanted to give parents and teachers a discussion guide for each book with questions about the important spiritual and character lessons in the stories.

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn.
Tell me the truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story
and it will live in my heart forever.”

Indian Proverb

Latest Release

Grace Collins, God’s Hidden Lamp

Author: Alan W. Harris
Series: The Martyr's Friends, Book 2
Genres: Christian, Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult

Grace Collins had endured much heartache in her young life. After the tyrannical government’s relentless persecution against the followers of Jesus had resulted in the deaths of both of her parents, Grace eventually chose to follow Christ as well. She felt the strong call on her life to do what she could to relieve the sufferings of others during these hard and difficult times so she joined the Christian Underground.

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How stories are changing hearts…

Devour

"Locusts in a field of corn have nothing on our boys reading The Tales of Larkin. Devour – it’s the best word to describe their response to author Alan Harris’ new book. Hawthorn’s Discovery is a story packed with adventure, courage, honor, friendship, treachery, danger, great loss, and intrigue . . . and just about everything a great story has to have. But, beyond the great storytelling, it’s a story about The Story of redemption, woven artfully into the history of the tiny race of hearty people called Larkin."

-Matthew L. Jacobson, FAITHFUL MAN

A world in which my kids can learn about the heart of Jesus.

"Thank you for creating a world my kids can enter and learn about the heart of Jesus. You have a fan base in Georgia!"

Ashlee Wallick

adventurous, exciting, and comical

The The Tales of Larkin perfect for the whole family to read aloud. The Larkin world consists of foraging, fighting, building, and hunting. Action-packed, full of comedy, and very exciting, a budding warrior or bandit will thoroughly enjoy this series.

-Ruth Anne, age 10

Every chapter of Hawthorn’s Discovery captivated my kids with high adventure and humor…

“Every chapter of Hawthorn’s Discovery captivated my kids with high adventure and humor while the parallels between this tiny world and ours left them chattering long into the night. It is a gift to find a book that elevates my child’s understanding of spiritual things. ‘Mom! Listen to this!’ they exclaimed every time Larkin’s tale illuminated another portion of our own Story. Nothing makes this mama happier than a book series I can wholeheartedly entrust to my children.”

–Kristen Anne Glover, military wife and blogger at Five In Tow

The whole McGlothlin family gives it a big thumbs up!

“To keep the attention of my two boys, a story must be full of adventure, easy to understand, and move quickly. To meet my highest mark of approval, it must be packed with meaning, make them think, and point them to Christ. The Tales of Larkin do all of these things and more! Hawthorn and his crew have made a permanent mark on our hearts and honestly, feel like family. A recommendation can’t get any better than that. The whole McGlothlin family gives it a big thumbs up!”

–Brooke McGlothlin, Co-Founder and President of Raising Boys Ministries
and Author of Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most

The book was an instant hit in our home.

“My son got lost in The Tales of Larkin and barely came up for air. Engaging, heartening, and packed full of adventure and heroism, it inspired my young reader to live for a higher purpose. The book was an instant hit in our home. Thank you, Alan Harris, for this delightful story!”

–Sarah Mackenzie, host of The Read-Aloud Revival Podcast

Characters reminiscent of Hobbits

"With characters reminiscent of Hobbits, sporting ready and witty tongues to match any Narnian Dwarf, the Larkin fight the Renegades in battles that rival the Lord of the Rings. In the style of Redwall and The Wingfeather Saga, this series by Alan W. Harris will delight lovers of Tolkien and Lewis alike. If you love The Green Ember or The Growly Books, you need to read Hawthorn’s Discovery."

-Gretchen Louise, community manager at Kindred Grace and book reviewer for Club31Women

From the very first page, I was swept up in the adventures from The Tales of Larkin.

“From the very first page, I was swept up in the adventures from The Tales of Larkin. I’ve long been on the lookout for an exciting – and yet character-building – book for our younger children to read and such books are not easy to come by these days! Just to be sure, however, I handed it over to our 12-year-old son and then watched him devour the story even more rapidly than me. This one is an absolute winner for parents and children alike!”

–Lisa Jacobson, Club31Women.com

Original, a breath of fresh air.

"This is no run of the mill novel, but rather it is a story like no other that could quite easily jog right in there alongside of such greats as C.S. Lewis or even Tolkien. In fact, I would say it is the best of Lewis and Tolkien, woven together into one novel to which Harris has added fresh new vigor and the sweet sweet truth of the Savior's love for us all!

"It's original, a breath of fresh air, and will keep your children's attention from start to finish!"

-DoeringFam on Amazon.com

Captured my reluctant reader.

"No author has captured my reluctant boy reader who thrives on adventure like Alan W. Harris has."

-Jennifer Kindle

I love it when an author can combine adventure, imagination, fantasy, and real-world truth.

“I love it when an author can combine adventure, imagination, fantasy, and real-world truth. Alan Harris has done just that with his romping The Tales of Larkin series. With brilliant story weaving, these books will delight both children and adults at the same time. In fact, both my husband and my daughter are eagerly awaiting the second book! They are perfect for the family bookshelf…read-aloud classic for years to come.”

–Natasha Metzler, author of Pain Redeemed and Christmas!

Series by Alan W. Harris

The Tales of Larkin

The Tales of Larkin is a series of Christian fantasy books for all ages, describing the adventures of the “Larkin”, a tiny race of people living in the American wild.

Browse the Series

The Martyr’s Friends

Gripping, exciting, and provocative, this series will dare you look at your faith in God from what could be a totally new and thought-provoking perspective.

Browse the Series

The Flintlock Sagas

In this sweeping tale about the conquest of the American wilderness, you will discover the joys and hardships of pioneer life. You will be intrigued by the resourcefulness and creativity of your forefathers, as well as their resilience and courage.

Browse the Series

The Other Side of the Veil

The horrors of hell are starkly contrasted with the glories of Paradise in this gripping story of events on the other side of the veil.

Get the Book

When you read good books aloud to your family, you are instilling good character and love for God while bonding as a family. You are using thrilling adventure stories as tools for heart change. And you’re using an exciting teaching technique that’s as old as the Bible.

When God’s Son Jesus wanted to reach hearts, He often used stories in the form of parables to do just that.

Not only have my books been written with a strong biblical world view, but they have also been formatted to be easily used by parents and teachers to teach character lessons and spiritual truths in a way that encourages those teachings to go straight to children’s hearts.

Learn more about this exciting teaching technique and why it works.

Each new edition will include a discussion guide in the book’s appendix. But when you subscribe to my email list, you will get a free copy of the discussion guide to use along with the audiobooks or older editions of the book.

Teaching with stories is how God reaches hearts in the Bible.

The Tales of Larkin and The Flintlock Sagas are fun read-aloud stories that have the potential for putting outstanding character and love for God into your children’s hearts.

Engage in an exciting teaching technique that’s as old as the Bible.

Use the Master Teacher’s method to reach the hearts of those you are teaching.

Instill good character and love for God through family bonding adventures.

Use thrilling adventure stories as tools for heart change.

Learn More About How to Teach Through Storytelling