Customer Reviews

A Letter From Heaven

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Steve Butler, the author of A Letter from Heaven, has presented the story in a way that will appeal to children; Bobby reads a letter from his sister Alexandra who is in heaven. It is a child talking to a child about her birth, death, love, and the miracle of roses. It provides comfort and satisfies the inquisitive minds of young readers without exposing them to too much too fast. Even the subject of the ashes in the ceramic jar, a difficult subject to bring up to young children, is handled with much skill. The ashes are addressed, but the emphasis is on the important part of Alexandra--that part of her who lives in heaven with God. The author also reinforces how much the living child is loved by his parents, grandparents...and his sibling in Heaven.

In reading this book, I found myself remembering a time in my life many years ago when I suffered multiple miscarriages. For some reason I always found it difficult to talk with my son and daughter, who were born years afterward, about their siblings, now living with God. Mostly, I would remind them that these babies are very much alive in Heaven, even though they did not take a breath on earth. I wish this book had been available to me at that time. I personally feel A Letter from Heaven is a wonderful and much-needed resource for helping parents and health professionals talk with children and explain the loss of a baby sibling who was born before them. It is an issue that has been very much neglected by the book industry.

I highly recommend this book and believe that it should be in libraries across the country.

It can be challenging for a parent or guardian to help their child understand and cope with the loss of a loved one, particularly a sibling. There are many books that deal with children's issues when coping with the death of a family member. In his children's story, A Letter From Heaven, author Steve Butler addresses a rarely talked about issue regarding the questions and feelings children have when they discover that their parents had a previous child who died.

Jamie is a young boy full of curiosity and questions. His inquisitiveness about a ceramic jar sitting on a shelf causes him to constantly question his mother about it. For a long time, his mother was quick to give a simple answer that satisfied him. As time passes, he becomes even more curious. His mother finally sits him down and retrieves a letter from the jar. She reads the letter and Jamie discovers that it is written to him from his sister who died shortly after being born.

A Letter From Heaven is a poignant and heartfelt story that explains what happened to Jamie's sister before he was born. Within the letter, such themes as family, love, peace, life after death, and the connection with nature in terms of birth, death, and rebirth, are raised. The story is beautifully crafted to help children understand and cope with death. It is very positive and written with great care, emphasizing the grieving process that includes acceptance.

With beautiful illustrations enhancing the story, A Letter From Heaven, is a very tender and uplifting story. It is highly recommended as an aid for parents, therapists, and educators, to help children through the grieving process when discovering the unexpected loss of a baby through either a miscarriage, still born, or sudden infant death. The book is a must have for every library.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services

A Letter From Heaven, written by Steve Butler, addresses the sensitive issue of a child's death.

In this case, Jamie's older sister, Alexandra, died at birth. Her ashes are kept on the mantle in a special vase. When Jamie is very small he asks, "What's that?" The answer given is, "That's Alexandra."

This answer suffices until Jamie gets older. Then he wants to know, "Who is Alexandra?" At that point, Jamie's mom goes over to the mantle, reaches behind the vase, and pulls out a letter. The letter is supposed to be from Alexandra, and it is addressed to Jamie. In the letter, Alexandra explains to Jamie what happened to her. She talks about her birth, her death and going to heaven (as well as other things).

The watercolor illustrations by Vaun Healey look like something a child would do. I'm not sure if that effect was intended.

What I Like: This book tackles a difficult subject, and as one reviewer put it, the author addressed "a rarely talked about issue regarding the questions and feelings children have when they discover that their parents had a previous child who died." That's a good thing.

What I Dislike: There just seems to be something missing from the story. After the letter is read to Jamie (and it's a good letter), there is no discussion between mother and son about the sister Jamie never knew. I think the story would have been stronger if it had more closure.

Also, I noticed a couple of layout issues with the print of the text. They aren't major issues, but they were somewhat distracting.

Overall Rating: Good.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

Talking about death with a young child--especially the death of someone he's never met--is very difficult. When the real Jamie started asking the questions about the real Alexandra, "A Letter From Heaven" helped us to talk about his sister in ways he could understand. While at age 4, Jamie doesn't completely understand about Alexandra, he does understand that she holds a special place in our family. And, as he now tells people when they ask if he has brothers or sisters, "I have a sister who's an angel". Her memory is a blessing to us all and "A Letter From Heaven" is a beautiful tribute not only to Alexandra, but to all children called back to Heaven before we were ready to let them go.

Jamie's mother keeps a beautiful ceramic jar on their mantelpiece. The jar is painted with blue flowers, and sometimes Jamie's mother puts real flowers next to it in a vase. Jamie has been asking his mother about that jar ever since he learned to talk. Each time he asks, his mother answers, "That is Alexandra." The answer is sufficient to satisfy little Jamie until the next time. One day, however, it occurs to Jamie that Alexandra could be someone's name, so he asks his mother again. This time he does not ask about the jar, but about the name. When Jamie asks "Who's Alexandra?" his mother sits down with him in the living room and takes a pretty pink envelope out from behind the jar. On the envelope, someone has printed his name, James Donald. This note was written especially for Jamie.
Author Steve Butler is a chaplain and an ordained minister. He has seen parents and grandparents grapple with how to prepare children for the death of someone close to them. The approach he has presented in Jamie's story is simply a way to open the conversation, whether about an impending death or a previous one. While Jamie's sister died before he was born, this text could be used to introduce death in a myriad of circumstances. Healey's illustrations are a little weak, and because the book was written for young children, it should have illustrations on each page. However, the child-like drawings will be easily acceptable to even the youngest child. Although author Butler offers an additional resource for the parent, it seems that in the age of the Web, other resources could be added. It is interesting that even though Butler is an ordained minister, he does not suggest connection with a family minister or church family for support. This is an acceptable effort to address a difficult subject.
Joyce Rice

A Letter from Heaven is an excellent resource for parents or anyone dealing with the death of an older child. It is especially written to help young children understand the loss of a sibling. The book is compassionately written, a delight to read and the illustrations are colorfully done!

A LETTER FROM HEAVEN is an exceptional book that helps parents explain the death of an older sibling to a young child. This helps answer "who" instead of "why" which a young child is unable to understand. For families that have to answer the question, I highly recommed A LETTER FROM HEAVEN.