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Tell Me About Heaven
Ten-year-old Jake struggles to understand his grandma's death. But as he spends two weeks at his grandfather's home, he is able to receive answers to his questions about Heaven. As Jake and Grandpa fish, watch the stars, and take long walks, Grandpa shares what the Bible says about the reality and beauty of Heaven. As Jake learns the truth about Heaven, he begins to better understand and accept his grandmother's death. As readers uncover the truths in the dialogue between Grandpa and Jake, they will better appreciate the home that awaits all who place their faith in Christ.
Hardcover
First published June 26, 2007
4 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Randy Alcorn
224 books1,604 followersRandy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. EPM exists to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."
Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon.
Randy is a best-selling author of 50 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.
Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.
Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of five grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.
Taken from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website, http://www.epm.org
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."
Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon.
Randy is a best-selling author of 50 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.
Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.
Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of five grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.
Taken from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website, http://www.epm.org
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 5, 2018
I was impressed with this book! It covers so many questions about dying, our bodies, Heaven, etc. and does a great job of incorporating correct Biblical doctrine and scriptural references. Although it's a little boy's grandma that has died, there was a six-year-old friend at the boy's church that died too, so this story can be relatable to losses other than a grandparent.
It is a long book but has been broken into several chapters to make for reading over several evenings.
Ages: 7+
Pages 64
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
It is a long book but has been broken into several chapters to make for reading over several evenings.
Ages: 7+
Pages 64
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
March 27, 2022
What a beautiful beautiful story and illustrations!
What joy there will be when we get to heaven! This book should be in every grandparents library! We all need this hope! God bless the author and illustrator!
What joy there will be when we get to heaven! This book should be in every grandparents library! We all need this hope! God bless the author and illustrator!
April 28, 2018
After the death of a precious family member, I began reading Randy Alcorn's non-fiction work, "Heaven." While I'm not sure I agree with everything Alcorn says, I found his exegesis good and application challenging.
As we discussed death, resurrection, belief in Jesus and heaven with our little one, it became apparent he had a lot of questions. Where other books on heaven for kids that I examined fell short, this one is a winner.
Parents should be advised of three things:
1) This book is written to young people, but it is no twiffy book. There are no angels getting their wings or trite non-Biblical epigrams ("God needed another angel so He took Grandma"). I was thinking it was a good refresher of Alcorn's book FOR ME. The book features a robust discussion between a Grandfather and his Grandson. This is the Grandson's first 2 week visit (an annual tradition), since Grandma died.
2) If you are not sure of your agreement with Alcorn's book, "Heaven", you may want to qualify some of what he says to your kids by letting them know there are other interpretations. The ease of a discussion of the Grandpa's beliefs with his Grandson reduces the feeling of authority, making this not difficult to do. You could ask your child what he thinks and why? and then explain what you think and why.
3) You might want to read "Heaven" at some point, to benefit from the thorough discussion of the basic principles laid out here.
Why You Will Want to Own This Book....
* The artwork by Ron DiCianni is rich and compelling. It also helps to illuminate concepts for little ones. We could read one paragraph of the chapter and spend an entire discussion just on the art work!! It really is that excellent and allows younger children to enter in through a concrete image.
* Each chapter starts with a Biblical reference, and several chapters feature sections of Scripture within the dialogue (ie. Grandpa or Grandson reading a passage in the course of their dialogue).
* The book is well written. The dialogue doesn't fall into clunky didactic preaching (well, maybe once or twice). The relationship between Grandpa and Grandson is tender, yet Grandson still has some natural shyness with Grandpa, particularly in Grandma's absence. These realistic portrayals make it more approachable to kids. And the good writing eliminates the tediousness for adults, making it easy to read and re-read. A true family treasure.
* The idea of heaven is explained in terms that help children to understand heaven is a REAL place, the artwork, the text, the examples, the discussion between Grandpa and Grandson all make it concrete for little ones. Well done.
* The Grandson has also experienced the difficult loss of a child, and this naturally enters into the discussion with Grandpa. This is tactfully done, and an effective way to bring in questions children naturally develop through their life experience. If it is death of a friend/ another child that is spurring a child's interest in heaven, this would be a good resource.
What Would Make It Perfect To Me
1) I would like a list of references for each chapter so that parents have a concrete path for discussion with children who want to go deeper. This would also help the book to work with a wider range of children.
2) Thoughtful discussion questions by chapter would also be helpful. Sometimes, I just didn't have the creativity to come up with an approach on my own, and some guidance in getting the child interacting would have stimulated our ability to interact over the material.
In summary, I am looking forward to many years of reading and re-reading this book with our children, and maybe even buying it as a gift for some adults too!
As we discussed death, resurrection, belief in Jesus and heaven with our little one, it became apparent he had a lot of questions. Where other books on heaven for kids that I examined fell short, this one is a winner.
Parents should be advised of three things:
1) This book is written to young people, but it is no twiffy book. There are no angels getting their wings or trite non-Biblical epigrams ("God needed another angel so He took Grandma"). I was thinking it was a good refresher of Alcorn's book FOR ME. The book features a robust discussion between a Grandfather and his Grandson. This is the Grandson's first 2 week visit (an annual tradition), since Grandma died.
2) If you are not sure of your agreement with Alcorn's book, "Heaven", you may want to qualify some of what he says to your kids by letting them know there are other interpretations. The ease of a discussion of the Grandpa's beliefs with his Grandson reduces the feeling of authority, making this not difficult to do. You could ask your child what he thinks and why? and then explain what you think and why.
3) You might want to read "Heaven" at some point, to benefit from the thorough discussion of the basic principles laid out here.
Why You Will Want to Own This Book....
* The artwork by Ron DiCianni is rich and compelling. It also helps to illuminate concepts for little ones. We could read one paragraph of the chapter and spend an entire discussion just on the art work!! It really is that excellent and allows younger children to enter in through a concrete image.
* Each chapter starts with a Biblical reference, and several chapters feature sections of Scripture within the dialogue (ie. Grandpa or Grandson reading a passage in the course of their dialogue).
* The book is well written. The dialogue doesn't fall into clunky didactic preaching (well, maybe once or twice). The relationship between Grandpa and Grandson is tender, yet Grandson still has some natural shyness with Grandpa, particularly in Grandma's absence. These realistic portrayals make it more approachable to kids. And the good writing eliminates the tediousness for adults, making it easy to read and re-read. A true family treasure.
* The idea of heaven is explained in terms that help children to understand heaven is a REAL place, the artwork, the text, the examples, the discussion between Grandpa and Grandson all make it concrete for little ones. Well done.
* The Grandson has also experienced the difficult loss of a child, and this naturally enters into the discussion with Grandpa. This is tactfully done, and an effective way to bring in questions children naturally develop through their life experience. If it is death of a friend/ another child that is spurring a child's interest in heaven, this would be a good resource.
What Would Make It Perfect To Me
1) I would like a list of references for each chapter so that parents have a concrete path for discussion with children who want to go deeper. This would also help the book to work with a wider range of children.
2) Thoughtful discussion questions by chapter would also be helpful. Sometimes, I just didn't have the creativity to come up with an approach on my own, and some guidance in getting the child interacting would have stimulated our ability to interact over the material.
In summary, I am looking forward to many years of reading and re-reading this book with our children, and maybe even buying it as a gift for some adults too!
November 18, 2017
A friend gave this book to my daughter and she wanted us to read it together. We read a chapter a day (there are 9 chapters). She's 13 and she liked it, and it generated some good discussion, even with my 10 year old who listened to us read it, too. Ages 8 to 12 or 13 might be a good age range for this book, though the boy in the story sounds really young - maybe 8, or 10 at the very oldest. It's not really a story; the grandfather and grandson do some things together (visit a waterfall, go fishing, go to a zoo) but these really are just distractions to break up an info dump about heaven.
However, it's a pretty good info dump about heaven. There's a lot of Biblical truth packed into it, and it does a decent job of dealing with grief without getting sentimental or cliche.
Some parts I liked:
Jake: "I don't like it when people say 'I heard you lost your grandmother.'"
Grandpa: "Why don't you like that?"
"Because I didn't lose her," Jake said, wiping his hand on his jeans. "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?"
Papa got quiet. All Jack could hear was the water against rocks. finally Papa said, "Here I am trying to teach you about Heaven, and you're teaching me."
The author extrapolates on a few Bible verses to some thought-provoking possibilities. For instance, there's a verse about how we'll have to give account for all our deeds on earth, so extrapolating from that, he comes up with the possibility that we'll have better memories in Heaven. He emphasizes the positive side of this - the ability to remember or see all the ways God took care of us, to appreciate all our loved ones, our favorite things, being able to fully treasure each moment - whereas in life right now, many of the details of our most precious moments slip away from us in the relentless procession of time. Because there are no tears or pain in heaven, even memories of bad things will not hurt us; perhaps we'll be able to better see how God worked them into His plan. Cool stuff to think about!
The grandpa emphasizes that the best is yet to come, a perspective that we have to hang onto even though death often means losing strength, weakening senses, and sickness. The author includes this note and quote from C.S. Lewis at the end: "In the New World's never ending story, as C.S. Lewis put it, every chapter will be better than the one before. To each reader, young or old, who trusts Jesus: I look forward to meeting you there."
The paintings that accompany each chapter are beautiful. Full of light, without being cliche (no harps and gold and clouds). Really, there is nothing cliche about what the Bible says about heaven; it's mind-bending. One painting that stood out to me was of Abraham Lincoln having dinner with a medieval knight and a black woman and her son in contemporary clothing, with two angels standing by, ready to serve. My favorite was at the very end of a young man with his dog and his grandfather's red bible, watching meteors streak across the sky, presumably Jake, grown up, remembering talks with his grandfather.
However, it's a pretty good info dump about heaven. There's a lot of Biblical truth packed into it, and it does a decent job of dealing with grief without getting sentimental or cliche.
Some parts I liked:
Jake: "I don't like it when people say 'I heard you lost your grandmother.'"
Grandpa: "Why don't you like that?"
"Because I didn't lose her," Jake said, wiping his hand on his jeans. "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?"
Papa got quiet. All Jack could hear was the water against rocks. finally Papa said, "Here I am trying to teach you about Heaven, and you're teaching me."
The author extrapolates on a few Bible verses to some thought-provoking possibilities. For instance, there's a verse about how we'll have to give account for all our deeds on earth, so extrapolating from that, he comes up with the possibility that we'll have better memories in Heaven. He emphasizes the positive side of this - the ability to remember or see all the ways God took care of us, to appreciate all our loved ones, our favorite things, being able to fully treasure each moment - whereas in life right now, many of the details of our most precious moments slip away from us in the relentless procession of time. Because there are no tears or pain in heaven, even memories of bad things will not hurt us; perhaps we'll be able to better see how God worked them into His plan. Cool stuff to think about!
The grandpa emphasizes that the best is yet to come, a perspective that we have to hang onto even though death often means losing strength, weakening senses, and sickness. The author includes this note and quote from C.S. Lewis at the end: "In the New World's never ending story, as C.S. Lewis put it, every chapter will be better than the one before. To each reader, young or old, who trusts Jesus: I look forward to meeting you there."
The paintings that accompany each chapter are beautiful. Full of light, without being cliche (no harps and gold and clouds). Really, there is nothing cliche about what the Bible says about heaven; it's mind-bending. One painting that stood out to me was of Abraham Lincoln having dinner with a medieval knight and a black woman and her son in contemporary clothing, with two angels standing by, ready to serve. My favorite was at the very end of a young man with his dog and his grandfather's red bible, watching meteors streak across the sky, presumably Jake, grown up, remembering talks with his grandfather.
August 16, 2022
I picked up this authors “50 Days of Heaven” devo for myself after losing my dad to cancer on June 12th and saw that the library had this version of his Heaven titles for kids so borrowed it to read thru with my kids!! I have to say that I have learned so much I never knew about Heaven and I have spent a couple yrs at a Bible institute where we studied chronologically thru the Bible in that time including Revelation…I have read another book by Larry Libby to my kids called “Someday Heaven” and I have to also say that this one definitely paints a clearer picture of what to expect Heaven to actually be like, where the other title was more about how to get there and why everyone won’t be there as most people want to believe who believe there is a Heaven. This resource along with his “50 Days of Heaven” has def been a source of comfort to me during an incredibly difficult season in life.
January 25, 2023
Well written story, with beautiful illustrations. Depicts a heart-warming relationship between a grandfather and grandson, and helps make a biblical understanding of the afterlife more concrete for children. With my kids having recently lost a very beloved family member, I thought it would be helpful, and I think it was.
April 6, 2024
Since Randy has studied the topic in the Bible more than most of us, this book is a useful and trustworthy tool for families. Although this book is intended for +/-10 year olds, grown-ups would benefit, too. May this book spark an interest to study God's Word more and to see for yoursekf what He has told us about Heaven! I was moved to (good) tears more than I can remember lately.
July 30, 2019
This is a really good book that is a quick read for an adult but is packed full of truth.
August 16, 2011
This children's book made quite an impression on me. It challenged my traditional golden streets view of Heaven. I'm so glad he's written something about this subject for adults as well
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews