God Gave Us Heaven

Great book to help little one's understand heaven and what it is believed to be. I'm not a religious person and not really sure that I believe in heaven and hell and God and all that, but even I enjoyed reading this to my 3 year old while my father in law (her grandfather, obviously) was dying. After his passing, she really took to this book as well as a couple others that were equally "enjoyable" and great learning tools for little minds.

The book is sweet, straight to the point and beautifully illustrated. I read it often to our three year old son after the sudden passing of his brother (who was 4). It gives him comfort knowing that there is a heaven and his brother is safe and happy there with Jesus. I mostly enjoy how it is straight the point and doesn't give too many analogies that a young toddler can not understand.

This books answers a lot of questions that children have about heaven in a way that they can understand. I gave this book to my sister-in-law for her baby shower. My husband, who is the baby's uncle passed away before the baby was born, so we hope this book will explain the concept of heaven. I searched quite a bit and couldn't find a book that would be a better fit for the situation.

good book for little ones BUT it really idealizes heaven as perfection. All wonderful.Not sure about that. But a parent should think about how they want to convey heaven to their children. If sugar and sweets and all you can eat, are what they think is right, then this is the book for them. Not much about the spiritual heaven. More the physical and emotional heaven.

I enjoyed this Christian Children's story. I received this as a gift and voluntarily chose to review this. I've given it a 5* rating. I continue to enjoy the way this author answers a child's questions. As a busy parent, it's sometimes hard to come up with these simple answers that will satisfy their minds till they are older and can learn more.

I did not contemplate before purchasing this book why God gave us heaven. Obviously (in hind sight) as a place to go when we die. This book brought that up with my 4 yr old granddaughter and scared her about me dying. This is not a subject that we have (or at this time need to) deal with. The other books are good and if you don't mind discussing death with a young child then this book handles it quite well.

The adorable white polar bear cub, wearing a jaunty purple scarf on this book's cover, gives a preview of what is inside the book's pages. Little Cub is full of questions for her dad, about what heaven is like.
Dad gives her upbeat answers. Little Cub asks "Can we take our stuff to heaven?" and Dad answers "No, we won't need our stuff there, Little Cub. Our best stuff doesn't weigh anything at all - stuff like love, family, friends and faith."
While they talk the bears have all kinds of bear adventures, swimming and hiking with backpacks and fishing with fishing poles.
A kind and gentle way to explain what heaven is like for children from ages one to eight.
Review written by author of:
A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holidays

Lisa, you accomplished exactly what you set out to do! You have created an amazing story that describes a place where "we can live with him forever...and know at last what life is supposed to be like--peaceful, joyful, worshipful" and you did it in an incredibly simplistic way that every child (and adult) will get! "Heaven will be full of everything good!" I couldn't agree more... Thank you!

"Papa, what's heav'n?" Little Cub queries her father as her family rises in the morning, the opening of the story. Readers follow the polar bear family through their daily tasks and are privy to the explanations Papa bear provides and the conversation that develops as more questions occur to Little Cub. While answering Little Cub's questions Papa bear answers many of the queries similar to those your own little cubs may ask.

"When do we get to see heaven?"

"Will we eat in heaven?"

"Will we be angels?"

Some of the questions do not have clear biblical answers; not much is known about heaven when we examine the scriptures. Papa bear is never evasive, but speaks in terms that small children can understand. He tells Little Cub of heaven's goodness, how it is filled with love and everything that we long for, most especially God.

And the most important question:

"How do we get there, Papa? To heaven, I mean."

This launches Papa bear into a simple explanation of Jesus as the bridge to heaven, a mild children's gospel that simply points to Jesus as the Way. However, the theology offered is somewhat soft, with Papa bear positing that all of their loved ones will be in heaven - a statement made before he shares about Jesus. Parents may want to clarify that this is the case only if all of these loved ones are believers.

Bryant's illustrations are delightful, they are among my favourites in children's literature. The bear family is adorable in their wintry home, the snow reflecting all the shades of the sky and sun. The soft, powdery pastel shades are enticing, rendering the bears huggable and the landscapes somewhat ethereal. Never before has the Arctic been depicted so appealingly

Dedicated to a little girl who went home to the Lord at the age of six, God Gave Us Heaven provides a gentle way to speak to children about death. Whether preparing for the passing of a loved one, after the death of a child or simply to meet a child's curiosity; this book clearly expresses God's love and the riches of heaven, revealing that believers can look forward to a loving home as their final destination.