Customer Reviews

How Far to Heaven

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This story is about a young girl and her grandmother, whom she lovingly refers to as Nanna, and their search for Heaven. If you know a child who has lost a loved one, or spends time with a special grandparent, step inside this book and join this unlikely pair as they take a beautiful walk through nature.

Throughout this story, you will be deeply moved when you realize the many ways in which Heaven manifests itself - if you will only look and listen. Heaven can be found in sunbeams, in the sweet smell of the air, or in the sounds that are all around us. As this young girl and her grandmother walk through the woods, they find it everywhere. It is in the vibrant colors of the leaves, in the trickle of a stream, and surely it is in the eyes of a little girl's grandmother.

How far is heaven? As the young girl and her Nanna pursue Heaven on their enlightening journey, they come to recognize - and fully understand - that it is all around them and to know the feeling of being, "...the richest person on earth."

*****I highly recommend this book for any child who has a close relationship with an older person, or who needs comfort during a time of bereavement. Each page is filled with vibrant color and the illustrations are simply breathtaking.*****

A little girl notices her grandmother on her porch swing-- lost in thought and smiling. "What were you thinking about, Nanna?" she asks. Nanna smiles into the distance, and tells her granddaughter that she was having a chat with her grandpa. But he's in heaven, the girl protests-and then asks "Is heaven very far?" Nanna jumps up. "Let's go...Let's find out just how far it is!"

In this delightful story written by Chara M. Curtis and illustrated by Alfred Currier, a grandmother and her "Little One" stroll through the garden gate and discover heaven-in the lush green meadow, feathery clouds, brilliant blue sky, orchestral birdsong, a magnificent thicket of aromatic wild roses, crystal clear water and other glorious sights, sounds, and scents of nature.

They dance and sing, reveling in the beauty of their surroundings-as well as each other. The final song sung by the grandmother in How Far to Heaven? provides the comforting answer to the little girl's question:

"Forever and always, inside, all around,
Heaven is everywhere heaven is found.
Listen with glad ears, see with love's eyes,
Give wings to your heart, and cherish the prize!
Forever and always we dance to the sound,
For heaven is everywhere heaven is found,"

Through the author's poetic prose and depth of wisdom, we experience the enchantment of nature and the power of wonderment-as well comfort in the knowledge that loved ones are near as our breath. The illustrator's vibrant paintings convey depth of emotion and capture the beauty of sun-dappled faces and nature's grandeur.

I highly recommend this book for any child or adult-especially those coping with the loss of a loved one. "For heaven is everywhere heaven is found" is a profound and timely message for all people-and certainly worth remembering each and every day.

Note: How Far to Heaven? is on the Children's Book Council's list of good books dealing with trauma, tragedy, and loss after 9-11-2001.

This story is about a young girl and her grandmother, whom she lovingly refers to as Nanna, and their search for Heaven. If you know a child who has lost a loved one, or spends time with a special grandparent, step inside this book and join this unlikely pair as they take a beautiful walk through nature.

Throughout this story, you will be deeply moved when you realize the many ways in which Heaven manifests itself - if you will only look and listen. Heaven can be found in sunbeams, in the sweet smell of the air, or in the sounds that are all around us. As this young girl and her grandmother walk through the woods, they find it everywhere. It is in the vibrant colors of the leaves, in the trickle of a stream, and surely it is in the eyes of a little girl's grandmother.

How far is heaven? As the young girl and her Nanna pursue Heaven on their enlightening journey, they come to recognize - and fully understand - that it is all around them and to know the feeling of being, "...the richest person on earth."

*****I highly recommend this book for any child who has a close relationship with an older person, or who needs comfort during a time of bereavement. Each page is filled with vibrant color and the illustrations are simply breathtaking.*****

Reviewed by Ruth Wilson for Huntress Reviews.

Gorgeously illustrated with impressionist-style color artwork by Alfred Currier, How Far To Heaven? is a charming children's picturebook about the lifelong bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Grandpa has passed on, yet Nanna is comforted by the knowledge that he is in the paradise of Heaven; she is always listening for angels. When Nanna and her granddaughter venture into the woods together, they see beautiful wonders of nature and Nanna tells her granddaughter a special secret. "Grandpa said that in heaven an angel would be at my side. Do you not know you are my angel?" A heartwarming, life-affirming book intended for young readers of all religious backgrounds (there is no explicit reference to any specific Christian scripture or dogma other than the general concepts of heaven and angels), highly recommended.