What's Heaven

by: Maria Shriver
What's Heaven
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Amazon.com Review:
Borne from actual questions asked by her own daughters, journalist MariaShriver's What's Heaven? is a gentle narrative following theconversations that pass between a mother and a young daughter in the daysimmediately following the death of the child's special great-grandmother.Initially, young Kate's concern is with the obvious change in her mother.Quickly, one question leads to another.
Kate asked,"Mommy, why are you so sad?"Her mom looked at her and said, "My grandma, your great-grandma, has diedand gone to Heaven." Kate thought about this for a moment. "Then she asked, "Heaven? What'sHeaven?"
Shriver, who was raised Catholic, delivers a simple, traditional definitionof Heaven that is rich in imagery but never overembroidered . Heaven, shewrites, "is a beautiful place up in the sky, where no one is sick, where noone is mean or unhappy. It's a place beyond the moon, the stars, and theclouds.... Heaven isn't a place you can see.... It's somewhere you believein." As the funeral approaches and Kate's questions become more pragmatic("How will she breathe in the box?... Why did Great-grandma look sodifferent?") her mother slowly and clearly introduces the concept of bodyversus soul, explaining that Great-grandma's best and brightest traits willlive on forever in the people she loved. It's hard for Kate to grasp, but by book's end, when she's calling up intothe sky to her Great-grandma, it is clear Kate understands. "I know you areup there, and if you can hear me, I want you to know that even though youare no longer here, your spirit will always be alive in me." Generously illustrated with Sandra Speidel's full-size pastel drawings ofthe characters, the sky, angels, and family photographs, this is a bookthat can comfortably be read in one sitting. Not that it will only be readonce: it's got instant-classic written all over it.(Ages 5 and older)--Jean Lenihan

Product Description:
This treasure of a book, for people of all faiths, is a starting point for parents who must talk about the difficult topic of death with their children.

What should parents say when a loved one dies? Heaven is a difficult subject that always comes up at tough times, and Maria Shriver has written a very special book precisely for these stressful moments. What's Heaven? is the story of Kate, a little girl whose great-grandma has just died. She seeks answers, and her mother helps her learn about Heaven. The many questions in this book are real, coming from Shriver's own children, nieces, and nephews when her grandmother Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy passed away. With 900,000 copies of the book now in print, the loving, confident, and ultimately uplifting answers Shriver provides are helping readers' families come together, feel closer to one another, and experience peace during the times when they need it most.


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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Found a better book for helping a 4 year old understand death
This book was a little disappointing to me. The text of the book is a series of questions that a child asks her mother. Ms. Shriver is a religious person, but this book goes into a lot of "guessing" of what heaven looks and feels like, which I thought was too much. Also, the way the text reads, it is difficult to see where one section ends and begins. So I was unable to easily skip portions that I felt were too much for my 4 year old.

This book might be better for an older child (say ... Read More
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Wonderful book that deals with death and the questions children have.
This book was purchased as a gift to a family for the loss of a loved one. Their child had a lot of questions and this book seemed to help the child and their family. We also purchased an extra copy for the local library as a donation so that it may help other children.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Amazing
I read this to my 5 year old and it was amazing. This book answered every question she had. It was so helpful to me and my husband as it was a great guide for us. To use the right words for her to understand. I highly recommend this book! If you believe in GOD and you want your child to understand death in way that is both positive and real, then this is the book for you!
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - conversation piece
I purchased this book to read to my grandchildren so that we could discuss the passing of my husband, their grandfather.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Not impressed.
This is the story of a young girl who questions death and the hereafter, following the passing of her grandmother.While the questions are important, the story isn't very well-written, and the conversations aren't very realistic, in my opinion.I believe that, if the book were written by an unknown writer, instead of by a Kennedy, it would still be in an editor's slush pile; possibly even in their garbage can.The book's illustrations are beautifully rendered pastels, each of them including various ... Read More
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