Rating: 
Summary: A Heavenly Gift
Review: Death eventually visits everyone. Arguably, the most difficult aspect for adults is how to tell the children and grandchildren. Fortunately for all of us, Maria Shriver has written, along with the beautiful illustrations of Sandra Speidel, a classic in the making.Although I had heard about this book when it was first published, it was not until the death of a very close friend prompted my purchase. I intended to make this book available to my friend's adult children as they explained her passing to her three granddaughters ages 4-6. Indeed, the book has been appreciated by the children. But, even better, like any classic children's book, it served to answer questions that adults have forgotten the answers to. Childhood is a magical time and young children seem to handle the notion of death better than we grown-ups could ever imagine. Thank you for bringing simple answers to difficult questions!
Rating: 
Summary: A Timely Book
Review: I had heard of this book but had not read it. When my Mother passed away this year, I wanted to read the book and see if it would help explain the concept of heaven to my two grandchildren, ages 3 and 8. It was checked out at my public library, but I finally located a copy at a nearby mall. I was well pleased with the content and the illustrations were beautiful. At the same time I located this for my grandson, a friend of his in Cub Scouts lost his grandfather, so I ordered a copy for him. It was well written, and explained death of a loved one, heaven, and the question of "why" in a way that the children understood and were comfortable with. I am looking forward to her next book, which deals with "special" children.
Rating: 
Summary: What the Bible Says About Heaven
Review: My daughter recently purchased Maria's book for her children, ages 5 and 8. I read the book first and suggested she not read
it to the children. The book is not based on Biblical truth, but on Maria's opinion of what she hopes Heaven is like. The book could have been beautiful, had it been written according to scripture. The Bible says that forgiveness and eternal life in heaven are God's free gift. We cannot earn it by doing good things or being "religious". No church can give it to us. We must receive it freely. We must repent of our sins and trust Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. ".....but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23b
Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite Heaven
Review: This is a well-written book about a mother helping her daughter to deal with the grief of losing her grandmother. The problem is it was not written from the child's perspective, but from that of a third-person observer. Children in the primary grades have trouble thinking of their feelings as something that somebody else might have felt. Many will have difficulty seeing this relationship. This book could have benefited by switching perspectives. A much more effective way could have been to have the child expressing her emotions through her thoughts, asking questions to her mother and receiving the appropriate responses. Rather, this book shows a mother telling her daughter how to feel and not allowing the child to truly express her grief. Why 3 stars?: This book would have done its job much better by being told from the child's perspective as opposed to the mother's. However, it is one of the only books that deals with this subject in such a delightful way.
Rating:
Summary: A great helper
Review: This book helped so much when trying to explain to my five year old son what happened to his baby brother. As a Catholic, I share many of the ideas and beliefs that Ms. Shriver brings forth in the narrative - however I feel this book would help children of many different faiths as well. My son would periodically pull "Whats Heaven" off his bookshelf to read together with me - more so right after his brother's death, but even now, 3 years later he asks me to look at it with him sometimes. Each time we'd go through it he'd ask some of his own questions and we'd struggle through them together. Sometimes we cried, sometimes not, but I believe by sitting down together and allowing him to think over these questions has undoubtedly helped in his struggle to understand death.
Rating:
Summary: Grief
Review: Dealing with grief is so difficult for children. There are so many books out there that explain it in their own way. Maria chose what she wanted to tell her children. Each person may be different. I thought the illustrations were beautifully done.
Search for books and video's that you think will help your children. I don't see a section here to recommend other books/videos so I will just add it here. I liked After the Tears, A Gentle Guide to Help Children Understand Death (video).
The best to Maria and her family.
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Summary: agree with gabsmom's review
Review: I keep several copies of this book on hand to give to friends with small children when a grandparent dies. It's also a good therapeutic tool when a surviving grandparent reads it to a grandchild. No, it's not an all-encompassing discussion on death or God. But anyone who has been around small children knows that an explanation for one simple question will raise ten more questions. And those questions may not come until days or weeks later. At that point, "What's Heaven" can be revisited, or the discussion can lead to more in-depth issues.
Rating: 
Summary: Appealing to unqualified authority.
Review: Maria Shriver can write a good childrens book. This little book will make you and the child you read to feel warm and cuddly inside. You will view the world and especially the life after death in a whole new light. The pastel illustrations are wonderful. If your goal is to make that special little person in your life feel comforted about the life hereafter, than look no further. If you believe that Heaven is this place that may or may not be fictious; a place that you just believe in like wishing upon a star, than this book is for you. I mean what does it matter! But if you honestly believe in an afterlife, that time called eternity, and if you believe that you are going to spend that eternity somewhere, than I would think that you would appeal to someone more qualified than Shriver for information on such an important issue. Shriver, a mother of four, may be qualified to write a childrens book, but she is unqualified to write a book on theological issues; even if the book is for kids! It goes without saying that we must always search out a qualified authority when dealing with an issue of such gravity.
So whom do we go to when searching out the answers to theological issues? I believe ultimately, that, we are assured great success if we go to God himself. He has given us his word if we would only take the time to consult it; and who would know better about the life hereafter than he who is creator over all. Concerning a childs ability to understand such issues; God says: "Train up a child in the way [they] should go, even when [they] are old [they] will not depart from it.' Proverbs 22:6. If you teach the truth, your child will understand.
Now the truth is simply this, (according to our creator anyway) 1. God is Holy and righteous. "The Lord has made known his salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. Psalms 98:2. 2) God can not associate with unrighteousness. "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness...." Romans 1:18. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus." Romans 6:23 "And inasmuch as it is appointed for [humankind]to die once and after this comes the judgment. Hebrews 9:27. 3) All of humankind is born unrighteous. "There is none righteous, not even one...." Romans 3:10. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. 4)But God Became Man (John 1:10) and provided a way for us to escape his holy judgment upon us. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. 5) So what does God require of us? "Peter said to them, "'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivness of your sins; and you will recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38. "[T]hat if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is the truth according to God. This is the only way to Heaven, like it or not, believe it or not. If you would like a childrens book that will tell you the truth, I would recommend "I Believe In Jesus" by John MacArthur.
Rating:
Summary: A gentle introduction to the rituals of death.
Review: This little book will do much to help a child begin to understand the enormity of death. The point of it is not to argue whether there is a Heaven and whether everyone will go there, but to create a safe haven for children to ask questions and receive a little comfort. I used this book to help explain to my 3-year old about my dad's death and used it simply as a tool, skipping over parts I thought she wouldn't understand and expanding on the ones I thought she would. She has come through with the understanding that grandpa is in Heaven (and who is going to explain the complexities of the ideas Heaven and Hell to a 3-year old and frighten them in the process??) and that she will always have her memories of him in her heart to help keep him alive. It also explains that it's OK to be sad and cry if it helps you to feel better about your loss. My daughter has been comforted by that and that's all that matters. This is a childrens' book, after all, geared toward childrens' understandings...not a theological debate.
Rating:
Summary: Such a comfort
Review: I bought this book for my 6-year old brother when our father was dying of cancer. (I am in my early 30's, FYI.) I thought that my brother needed some kind of tangible representation not only of death but also of what to expect at the funeral. The important part of this book is that it introduces children to the idea of death and to the ritual of a funeral and to one conception of what happens after we die. In the case of my brother, it opened the doors of communication so that he could ask everything he wanted to know about death. And when my father did die, my brother was prepared. He wasn't surprised by anything that happened because he had a comfortable understanding of what was going on around him. I give Shriver great credit for creating this valuable book. It is not a replacement for communication within the family, but it is a good jumping-off point for discussions.
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