What Is Heaven Like?

by Beverly Lewis, Pam Querin (Illustrator)

"What is heaven like?"

A young boy and his sister, missing their recently departed grandfather, ponder heaven. In a quest for understanding, the boy sets off to ask everyone he encounters all about it--his teachers, the ice cream truck driver, the dentist, his family--and each person offers a different yet insightful response.

For any child who is coming to terms with the loss of a loved one, or even those young ones who are simply curious, What Is Heaven Like? poignantly addresses the questions kids ask most often. The final page offers suggestions for parents and Christian educators.

"There are many rooms in my Father's house. If this were not true, I would have told you."
John 14:2

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christian, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."

Reviews

[Melissa (Always Behind)]

A young boy is missing his grandfather, who recently died. He sets off on a mission - to discover what heaven is like. Each page is filled with exquisite watercolor illustrations that make the book a feast for the eyes.

The boy asks everyone he knows - his sister, mail carrier, teacher, librarian, ice cream truck driver, mother, neighbor, just to name a few. Each has their own individual take on what heaven must be like. These answers together provide hope and encouragement. The answers the boy receives are accompanied by Bible verses that emphasize and reinforce the points made.

What is Heaven Like? is a wonderful book for any child, but will be especially meaningful to those who have had a special person in their life die. The straightforward and honest answers provided will appeal to kids, who are naturally full of questions.

[Talia Messina]

A little boy goes around asking everyone what they think Heaven will be like before his mom sits him down with a Bible to get some real answers. The text is very long and not particularly engaging. Though there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t interesting and it spent 2/3 of the book talking about what other people assumed Heaven would be like which didn’t have much biblical relevance.

[Cathy]

This children's book did an amazing job of using beautiful illustrations, scipture and easy to understand language to describe to a child what heaven is like. It tells the story of a grieving child and how she is comforted by adults in his life by the reality of heaven. A very special book that I and my son thoroughly enjoyed!! Highly recommend!!

[Lisa]

This beautifully written book is about a little boy whose grandfather passes away. The little boy is curious and asks several different people about heaven. Each answer is unique. This would be a great book to read to children or young adults or even some adults who have questions about heaven.

[Christina Senf]

I highly recommend this book. It is about a young boy whose grandfather passes away. He begins to question everyone he meets on what heaven will be like. He missies his grandfather and wants to take with him. I also enjoyed the Bible verses that were at the bottom of every page.

[Jayla_Reads]

I did NOT expect to cry like I did when reading this children’s book! It’s such a beautifully written book for children or adults to enjoy and understand about heaven. By far one of the BEST children’s book I’ve read in quite a long time! Five stars all the way!

[Annie]

A comforting exploration of Christian heaven and afterlife, with Biblical verses as footnotes.

[Chelsea Garay]

Wonderful book answering many questions children may have about heaven and our life here on earth.

[T]

A vewry good explanation of heaven to use with young children.

[Ebookwormy1]

The fictional story of a young child's search to understand heaven after his grandpa dies provides the background for a Biblical presentation of heaven.

What I liked:
* The illustrations are beautiful.
* A child's grief was presented well.
* Relationships between generations are close and harmonious.
* In the end, the longest and deepest discussions are with the adults closest to the boy.
* The book has a soothing pace.
* Every page features a Bible passage about heaven that somewhat corresponds to what is being discussed.

What I didn't like:
* The boy asks all sorts of random people in his community about heaven. I understand this is the 'hook' but it was problematic for three reasons: 1) It goes on too long, and 2) Not all the people give correct or Biblical answers, and 3) Do we really want our children talking with school librarians, ice cream men, dentists and mailmen about their heart felt questions?
* I would have liked teaching/ emphasis on the Bible as the source of understanding about heaven.

The world Beverly Lewis creates is beautiful, but saccharine. I found the idyllic community she created kind of repulsive and even maybe dangerous in its naivete. No where does the book deal with the question of who is going to heaven, just reassurances of how wonderful it will be to be with the LORD and together. A happy-happy clap-clap Christian's look at the easy Biblical truths about heaven, but not a trusted resource. Just okay. 2 stars.

[Lorie]

I picked up this book looking for something appropriate for my 6 year old nephew who just lost his mom to breast cancer. It is a fiction story about a boy missing his grandpa after he dies and goes around asking lots of people what they felt heaven was like. Each page offers scripture to back up their answers, so this will not be appropriate for public schools. While I liked the varied responses from people he asked, it seemed a little to preachy by the end.

[Samantha]

Loved this book. Helped one of my kids i nanny through a very rough patch in his life. Wish i would of had it when my father passed away. It is religious therefore i wouldn't use it in school, but still a great book.

[Mandy J. Hoffman]

I liked the easy going, kid level of the approach this book took. However, I didn't like how they tried to take Heaven and bring it down to earth a little too much.

[Kim]

Nice illustrations. But, really!

[Lynette Norton]

Read this to my granddaughter several times, she loves it.

[Sarah]

Pretty good. child-appropriate discussion of death and heaven. Heavily religious, so I'd avoid if that isn't your thing.

[Kimberly]

A little boy, grieving for his late grandfather, speaks to the adults in his life about what heaven is like. Biblical passages throughout.

[Cordellya Smith]

This is a good book for explaining what Heaven is like to young children.

[Joy Gerbode]

This is a beautiful story of a boy who wants to know what Heaven is like. The various people in his life give him answers, which are supported with Scriptures throughout the book. Beautifully done.

[Lisa Morrow]

What a wonderful children's book about heaven! Beautiful illustrations!