What's Heaven?

by Maria Shriver, Sandra Speidel (Illustrator)

What's Heaven is the story of Kate, a little girl whose great-grandma has just died. She seeks answers, and her mother helps her learn about Heaven. The many questions in this book--childlike and thought-provoking--are real, coming from Maria Shriver's own children, nieces and nephews when her grandmother Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy passed away. With loving, cinfident, and ultimately uplifting answers, Shriver taught her family, and will teach yours, how to come together, feel closer to each other, and feel peace.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Inspirational, Spirituality, Grief, Death

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 1999

About the author

Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, activist, author of six best-selling books, and former First Lady of California.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Coleen (The Book Ramblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book years ago as a child, when my grandfather passed away. It was a comforting read, explaining what death and Heaven mean.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just dropped off some books at a used book store and started browsing. Saw this sitting on the children's shelf, so I read it. It was pretty cute, nice illustrations, but I had a major theological problem with it, so I think if I had kids, I probably wouldn't pick this one to read to them.

The mother tells the little girl that she believes something like "if you're good for most of your life, you'll go to Heaven."

It's not really about "being good," for most of your life, though, imo... it's about whether the love of God is in your heart and whether you've really repented of the wrong things you've done. It seems that teachings like that in this book are what can trigger a lifetime of perfectionism and over-religiousness... a slippery slope to judging other people who are not so "good."

Bleh.

[Jenna Dillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief Summary: This book is about a little girl who learns of her great-grandmother's death and proceeds to ask her mother many questions about death, heaven, afterlife, and grief. She learns how to accept death in the end of the book and embrace the spirit of the one lost.
Genre: realistic fiction
Reading Level: This book is for transitional readers because it has whole pages of text, complex sentences and a variety of words such as: cousins, funeral, and differently.
Topic: death, grief, afterlife, coming to terms
Curriculum Uses: I would use this as a read aloud if the children were having trouble understanding death. I would also use it as an independent read for a fluent reader. Other uses would include adding it to a guided reading group’s book list. The group would be based on dealing with tough issues such as death.
Literary Elements: The author uses metaphors and similes to describe heaven and souls. The author also uses dialogue to describe character traits and actions. The author also establishes the mood in the book through the choice of setting, details, and images.
Social Issues: Afterlife, religion
Illustrations and Text: The illustrations in this text do not support the text very closely but they are uplifting and peaceful. They convey the somber mood that is established by the author in the book.

[Morgan Groth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary Elements: Onomatopoeia; character: Kate is a curious little girl who has lots of questions, especially about Heaven. I would use this book for occasions if one of my students has experienced a loss (in a private school, of course). I know it helped me a lot when I was little to understand where my dad went. It has a thorough explanation of Heaven and how to cope with death.

[Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written for a child but it can by read by anybody. The first time I read it I absolutely adored it. It's really amazing and a wonderful story about a mom explaining to her daughter about the definition of heaven...

[Roshini R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate is a young girl whose great-grandmother has died. Her mother states that she’s gone to Heaven. Kate inquires, “What’s Heaven?” Her inquisitive nature leads to further discussion. She asks more questions in response to her mom’s answers. She learns more about Heaven and related concepts, expresses some thought provoking questions and responses, and draws a few conclusions for herself. This is a good book to have on hand for parents, children, and anyone looking for answers after the death of a loved one. The story incorporates questions asked by Shriver’s own children, nieces, and nephews at the death of their great grandmother. This emotional and complicated subject is treated with simplicity, gentleness, and compassion. I think people of all faiths can use this book as a starting point for discussions. The accompanying pastel illustrations complement the story beautifully.

[Laina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at the library today when looking for a way to explain my grandfather's death to my 5 and 3 year-old kids. It was perfect... well, maybe except for the part where there's a pet heaven and a people heaven... but they're too young to understand that difference anyway. The only real problem was that I couldn't make it through the book without having to stop and compose myself. The story beautifully explains the concept of a soul and how our bodies remain after death but our souls go on to live forever. It also talked about a funeral and, briefly, the process of grief. I had no idea how to address the topic myself, so this book was a great way to open the conversation with the kids, and we'll be able to continue to refer to it as we approach the funeral.

[McKenna Crimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was about a little girl whose great grandma had died and she keeps asking questions about what heaven is. Many kids can relate to this because they always ask questions since they are trying to understand what people mean. The pictures in this book were beautiful and soft toned. The writing was bolded when there was something important trying to be pointed out. It was mostly conversations between little girl and her family members. I would have loved to have a book like this when I was younger and I would have known that asking questions was okay.

[Marc Glazebrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this story showed an important and loving discussion about a subject that is so difficult for a child to understand and maybe equally as hard for a parent to explain. After reading this book together a couple of times, it opened up several conversations with my 6 year old son about the concept of death and the world thereafter. Different ideas and beliefs were shared concerning our family's loss. And these conversations continue to happen with the freedom to have an open mind to more thoughts about angels, souls, spirits, etc.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to my girls when my mom - their grandma - died. They were not interested in it, but it was a nice explanation of the life after death.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet little book.

[Franki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story for young children who have lost a grandparent. Also, very touching for the adult too.

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick short story.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maria Shriver makes a valiant and caring stab at a difficult subject matter.Even though she tries to encompass all faiths in her text, it is worth a read. Picture book for adults.

[Casey Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really helped me get over my cousins death

[Tracy Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria Shriver wrote this heartfelt book based on the explainations of questions from the death of her grandmother by her childen,nieces and nephews.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's children know they are not alone.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a story of heaven told to a child after the death of a beloved family member a good book to have when facing a funeral

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pictures and story line is very sweet and nicely done.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a story of heaven told to a child after the death of a beloved family member a good book to have when facing a funeral

[Delia Huitema]

Loved it and lent it to friends going through the loss of a loved one. Terrific for kids.

[Sweetdeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son received this as a gift when my husband, his father passed. I believe it would be a good read for a younger child, he is 10.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mother and daughter have a conversation about Great-grandma's death and what happens and the customs we follow. Can help guide conversations.

[jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful children's book about heaven. I remember my mom reading it to me when I was younger.

[Rebecca Ainscow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. I think our culture has such a Disneyfied view of death, which can really backfire when children are faced with it. Yet, it's a hard subject for parents to bring up. Who wants to start a conversation, apropos of nothing, about death and dying? These types of books are valuable conversation starters when children need them to be, or just comforting rituals. Maria Shriver also is careful not to gloss over the mother's sadness at losing her grandmother. Yes, we have faith that she's in a better place. Yes, it's also okay to be sad anyway.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I appreciate the sentiment of this book, it's perpetuating a message that isn't true. Nowhere in this book is God mentioned. In fact, the Creator, Who owns Heaven; created Heaven, and dwells in Heaven isn't given credit for Heaven. Not by the merest whisper!! This book isn't based on anything true at all. It's biblically and Scripturally FALSE.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly the most beautifully written and illustrated book to describe heaven to children. I recently read this to my daughters (4) and (2) as my husband passed away and they were able to grasp the concept while admiring the story and illustrative work. I cannot recommend this book enough if you find yourself in a similar situation.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very good book and shows your child about heaven, God, Grief, and how we all do it differently. It wasn't about religion like i had thought when picking it up, it explains more about what happens after losing someone near and dear to your heart. I hope this book helps my son and nephews and I have confidence it will one day.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl coming to terms with the death of her grandmother. As the little girl is sitting in the garden talking to her mother, they both begin to talk about what heaven is like. The little girl is asking questions and just trying to understand where her grandmother is after she passed away.
I gave this book such a high rating because it was a book that really helped me out when I was a kid. When my mom passed when I was very young; there is no real way to explain to a five-year-old that mommy is never coming back or that mommy died. It took me years to really wrap my mind around the concept that mom was gone and she was never going to come home. Therefore my grieving process started much later. My grandmother gave me this book in hopes it would help me feel better, in a sense it did. This fiction book, gave me comfort knowing that it is possible my mother was in a so much better place and that one day I would see her again. When I had to reread this book, it made me remember to first time I read it. This is a book that really hits home with me and it will help a lot of children struggling with the loss of a loved one.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

My great grandma got me this book when I was a little girl to help me understand the death of her husband, my great grandpa. My other great grandpa died last night, so I read this book to my son this morning. He’s still too young to understand death or heaven or any of it, but he sat very still in his chair and listened attentively. Which he doesn’t always do. I know he won’t remember his great-great grandpa, but I like the idea that our loved ones live on through us, which is the final note of the book.