Customer Reviews

Up in Heaven

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally! A lovely, short, picture book for young (to very young) children that deals with death.

Arthur's beloved dog, Daisy, dies in her sleep one night. Of course Arthur and his family are sad. Daisy, watching from heaven, decides to send Arthur some dreams. In this way, she lets him know that she is happy in heaven, with lots of friends and feeling fine, and that she doesn't mind at all if Arthur decides to get another puppy.

Chichester's book certainly doesn't answer all the questions a child may have about death but it does address the loss of a pet very well. Unlike many books that deal with the loss of loved ones that fall very heavily on the reader, Up In Heaven also stands alone as a lovely storybook. Illustrations are bright and beautiful.

Although not religious in nature, the story is skewed to religions that believe in heaven and a possible afterlife. I hope my pups go to Chichester's heaven when they pass on!

This is a great book for children who have lost a pet through death. The author, Emma Chichester Clark, strikes a lovely and insightful balance as she tells the story of young Arthur whose dog Daisy dies of old age. Arthur is bereft and his parents are unable to console him. But Daisy comes to the rescue, observing from heaven how unhappy Arthur is.

Daisy's friends advise her to send Arthur a dream and show him how happy and restored she is now that she is in heaven. For a while Arthur is comforted, but the cure is short-lived. Again Daisy consults with her doggy friends who now advise that she send Arthur a "new puppy dream", making sure he knows that Daisy will not be jealous.

With Daisy's approval young Arthur is ready to adopt a new puppy, confident that it is Daisy herself urging him to do so.

The book has delightful illustrations and I have only one caveat: be sure as parents that you are ready for puppy adoption if your family is recovering from the loss of a beloved pet.

A rare and sensitive story which will delight both young and old.

Kathy

I came upon this book while in my hometown library and was thrilled that someone had written a stunningly visual book to help explain the loss of a pet to toddlers. We had lost our 1st baby 3 months earlier and ever since our 3 year old had questions about where Bear (our dog) went and why? Once we got this book, our daughter was able to easily relate to our dog having a fabulous time in Heaven with his friends and that she could still talk to him as he was looking down on her from there. Every so often she will still look up and say how much she loves him.

I also purchased the book from Amazon as her class of 3 year old's also lost their pet guinea pig Daisy (the name of the dog in the book) and they needed help explaining this concept to them. It never did arrive on time from Amazon (see Book Depository review), but we got it instead from the library again and when the book finally arrived, gave it to them for a reference for the future. All the kids loved it and were easily able to relate to the concept- it really helped in their grieving process and now they have a new guinea pig, Ruby to enjoy and make new memories with.

This is priceless. It tells the story about a little boy who's dog dies, but continues to watch over him in Heaven and help the boy and his family try to get over the loss. A must for anyone with young children who has experienced the loss of someone close to them (human or not!).

We have read this book literally hundreds of times. I inscribed a note in the front from our deceased dog to the kids, telling them this book was meant to help them. There is a picture in the book with other dogs (up in heaven!) and we named all of them b/c they reminded us of other past/passed beloved pets. The little white dog symbolizes our guinea pig. Anyway, it's great for the kids and a wonderful opportunity to open dialog about bigger life and death issues. I've recommended it to many friends - with children and without!

I stumbled upon this book at the vet's office after my little dog had died. It was a great way to explain to my small children that Maxwell was okay up in heaven and that we could have and love a new dog when the time was right. My kids like the book so much that they made me read it three times! On the third read, I realized that it had helped me too! I bought a copy so we could read it together whenever we were sad. We were reminded that our dog was up in heaven; happy and healthy.

This book is very well done. The little boy loses his dog to old age and it is explained that dogs go to 'dog heaven' and are very happy there. It beautifully explained death to little kids in a way they can understand. In the end, in a dream, his dog told him it was ok to get another dog to love. Beautiful pictures, heartwarming story, great book.

The illustrations in this book are so beautiful. I got choked up the first time I read it aloud to my three year old twin boys, too. My boys absolutely adore this book, even without understanding it completely. I love it and would recommend it highly but I do have to warn other parents. The little boy in the story gets a new puppy to help him get over his beloved Daisy. For families that want some more time to grieve and be dog-less (or don't want another dog again) this may start a new dog campaign. Be forewarned!

I got this book for my kids to help them deal with the reality of my terminally ill dog. It is a touching story that I can barely get through most of the time. (Thank goodness for Dad!) Beautifully illustrated. My 5 year old got the most out of the story. Now we are all waiting for a puppy dream! I'm getting one for the preschool in my furbaby's memory. Everyone with a beloved family pet needs to at least have access to this wonderful story. I'm so glad I have this book: for my kids AND for me.