Readers' Responses to Tell Me About Heaven

I was able to read a portion of your book Tell Me About Heaven to my Kindergarten class this week, the Tell Me About Heavenmorning before a boy from our school died from Leukemia. God used your ministry in perfect timing to help them understand that the young man is in a better place, in the presence of God. — T. H.

This was purchased for our great grandson who was asking lots of questions about Heaven. He carries the book under his arm which means he likes it. He is only 5 so he can’t read, but his grandparents are enjoying reading to him. — D. J.

I have just finished reading Tell Me About Heaven to my mom's Adult Day Care book club. It was so well received! I read it in three voices:  narrator (middle tone), Papa (deep), and Jake (high). All six people in the group renewed their commitment to Christ at "The End". I left a copy with the center so the clients may borrow it to read to their families. This experience showed me how a children's book can also be an outreach to the senior community who are in the "home stretch"! —M.F.

We found this book in our church library to read with our 4-year-old daughter. Normally, we take turns reading to her at night. This time, I had the thought of reading it together as a family, one chapter a night. We read the whole book and had some great conversations about it. During this time we had also been preparing ourselves for my father-in-law to move in with us, as he was recovering from a stroke. The first night he had returned to our home, we read the last chapter and he looked at the book for a time by himself.
     Three days later he had a massive brain hemorrhage. In the panic of the moment I started to fear for how we would explain to our daughter about her grandpa. Before my thought could be complete, I felt the Lord say to me, “ I've been preparing you for this moment for the last two weeks. You know what to say.” Immediately, I felt a sense of peace about it, no longer fearing.
     My father-in-law “walked through the door” into Jesus’ arms early Sunday morning. The next night, our daughter had asked where Grandpa was. We were able to have that conversation with her because all three of us shared a common knowledge of Heaven. Thank you for passing on these truths in this format. Though we miss him terribly, we know we haven’t lost him. We know exactly where he is! —C. & J. R.

My youngest son passed away almost eight months ago in a drowning accident. He was two months shy of his fourth birthday. There are many children’s books on the market dealing with death—none of which I would consider reading with my young boys. They would either be scary, too mystic, or say inaccurate things like “when we die we turn into stars in the sky.”
     This book, however, is different. We read one chapter a night together before bed. I am thankful not only for the use of scripture in this book, but the illustrations and the gentle but straightforward story of a boy and his grandpa talking about the death of the boy’s grandmother.
     After each chapter, my boys would ask me to read more. I stuck with only one chapter a night so we could just talk about our memories of their little brother—the fun times, the silliness, his antics and just how much we miss him. I am so thankful that God gives us the grace to still laugh—even when we’re crying, even when we hurt so deeply. We would end the night by praying together and thanking God for giving us time with him and how, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we will spend eternity all together…forever…never to be separated again.
     If you know anyone that is grieving the death of a friend or family member, this book is excellent—not only for children but for adults as well. I highly recommend this book and reading it together as a family!— M. D.

Thank you very much for the two children’s books. They are beautiful. I rushed over to show the many fathers in our Bible study here and they were at a loss for words to show their gratitude. Now they can take them to visiting and read to their children. These are wondrous books. — A prisoner

My 97-year-old father just went home to Heaven. Knowing the excellence of Randy’s study on Heaven, and believing the book would help my children answer their children’s questions about where Grandpa had gone, I bought the book. It was so good, we sat around Dad’s bedside and read it aloud, twice, before he died, for his blessing, and ours. A favorite vignette is the boy saying, “I don’t like it when people say, ‘I hear you lost your grandma.’ I didn’t lose her. When you lose something, you don’t know where it is. But since we know Grammy’s in Heaven, we haven’t lost her, have we?” This actually is for probably best for children a little older than my grandsons (the oldest is 2nd grade) but it will still be invaluable to their parents in talking about the delights my dad is experiencing right now. — C. M.

I recently purchased Tell Me About Heaven for my children because my library didn’t have it. I just had to have it. My daughter was thrilled when I showed her the book and couldn’t wait to get started, but I made her wait. And then I did the unthinkable—after we read the first chapter aloud, I told her we would continue tomorrow with the second chapter. She is a voracious reader and you would have thought I suggested some type of torture when I closed the book. We both loved the book. Randy has included material that young and old will appreciate. At first glance one would think it is below my daughter’s reading level, but the material was interesting, so it didn’t matter. I liked breaking it into chapters to read because it gave us time to process before moving on with the story. — R. S.

Not long ago I read Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven. It is truly wonderful. So when I saw that he had a book written to young children on the subject, I thought it would be a good book to add to my library. Some of our relatives are in poor health and Tell Me About Heaven is just right for her 8-year-old son to understand the concept of Heaven. I definitely would recommend this book. — D. C.

I totally underestimated this book! I mean, I knew it would be good because I know Randy Alcorn’s reputation and Ron DiCianni’s paintings have always touched me in a special way. What I did not anticipate is that it truly would tell me about Heaven.
    The reading level is ages 9-12, but this is no simple children’s book. It uses a boy’s conversations with his recently widowed grandfather to present a full, vivid, exciting, Scriptural view of Heaven and the New Earth. It makes one understand why those who have gone before really are better off, and encourages the Believer about his eternal future. This would obviously be an outstanding choice for a child, or anyone who has recently lost a loved one, but it is much more. It is a beautiful tool that can help all of us gain a proper perspective, a true understanding of what life is really all about.
    Randy Alcorn, thank you for telling us about Heaven! – R. A.

What would it be like to have a grandfather who, as a drew near to death, had virtually everything the Bible indicates about the next life on the tip of his tongue?
    What would it be like to listen to an aged man with so much Bible flowing from his lips help his grandson understand the death of his wife (his grandson’s grandmother)?
    What would it be like to listen to this man prepare his grandson for the day when he (his grandson’s grandfather) draws near to death?
    What would it be like to hear him tell his grandson that he’s ready to stand before the Lord because Christ is his only hope in life and in death?
    Now, in a sense, you don’t have to wonder what that would be like. Randy Alcorn has given us a book that depicts just such a grandfather having these kinds of conversations with his grandson.
    Tell Me About Heaven
is classified as “juvenile fiction,” so my three year old son no doubt missed much of the book’s rich content. Nevertheless, as we made our way through it, every night he was eager to read “The Heaven Book.”
    As the years go by, we’ll revisit this one, and I hope that when I come to die I can speak so freely on what the Bible says about heaven as the grandfather in this book does.
   What a God! What a gospel! What a Savior! Hallelujah! Thanks to Randy Alcorn for this moving story, and thanks to Ron DiCianni for the beautiful illustrations that held my three year old’s attention! – J. H.

Tell Me About Heaven by Randy Alcorn with paintings by one of my favorites, Ron DiCianni, is a beautiful story about Jake, papa and grammy that you’ll want to read with your children no matter their age. The book is a piece of art in itself with the breathtaking paintings by DiCianni, but most of all, I love the dialogue between this grandfather and his grandson about the heritage we have in Heaven with Jesus. This is a lovely gift idea from grandparents to their grandchildren. – S. L.