What About Heaven? by Kathleen Long Bostrom is a children's book about heaven and the questions that children ask. The first several pages are full of questions a typical preschooler might ask. The following pages answer those questions with statements. On each page, the Bible reference that supports the fact is listed in the top corner.
I am leery of feeding my children too much information that I'm not certain of. I'd much rather say "I don't know!" and talk about things from there, rather than give certain answers. I appreciate that the books starts off by saying that some things we won't know until Jesus comes back. A few comments concerned me though. The book promises that "Jesus will give you a room of your own, with others nearby so you won't feel alone." The scripture reference is John 14:2, which says God is preparing a place for us, not necessarily a "room of your own". I just felt like that was a stretch and might actually scare my kids. The other statement that I didn't like was about us wearing white clothes and not needing a washing machine in heaven. I'd rather tell me kids that I don't know if there will be washing machines in heaven or not, I don't think the Bible addresses that fact!
Aside from these reservations, the book is adorable. The illustrations are fun and I can see this being a great starting point for discussions with children. The book talks about what heaven is like, with the only mention of how to get there being "The way is with Jesus, believing in Him." I suppose you could elaborate on that as you read.
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for review from Tyndale House Publishing.
I really appreciate Randy Alcorn's books on heaven a lot! You should check them out. They have been a blessing to us (we have almost all of them) in our time of loss.
ReplyDeleteit is commendable that you want to make sure what you tell your children is a true fact and can be referenced. i have found that every question when researched correctly will have several scriptures pointing to one and the same conclusion. really, if you don't double check everything, it's just a matter of time until they think for themselves and find out what they've been taught does not add up. sticking to what can be proven will build a stronger foundation of faith. even if it at times means to admit not knowing the answer to all the questions and having to dig for the answers before getting back with the kids.
ReplyDelete