Heaven is For Real? A Book Review

Heaven is for Real for Kids by Colton Burpo is intended as a kid version of the adult book of the same title.  It follows the story of Colton as a little boy, who claims to have gone to heaven and come back. I was given this book for review from booksneeze.com

I have the read the adult version and thought it was a thought provoking book on heaven.  Does that mean that I take it as truth-?  absolutely not.  I was intending to read this book to my youngest, as he is at the age where he is questioning death and heaven. Now I am not sure if I will or not.

The overall feel of the book is an uneasy one for me.  Anything, not taken from the bible on the matter of heaven should pass through some amount of scrutiny from us.  This book is no exception.  The pictures are to steeped in religious symbolism for my liking. They seem forced and heavy.  The illustrations alone make anything else in the book hard for me to take as truth.  Many of the scriptures are taken out of context, this too is a problem.  Although I don't doubt that animals will be in heaven, this verse used for the particular picture in this book was not written to prove that animals will be in heaven, but rather in reference to a millenial rule of Christ, and a time of peace.
Perhaps not worth getting in a theological debate over, but if I am going to help my kids discern if heaven is for real, then I should simply read the bible to them, as a whole, and allow God to give them their own visual image of what they hear.

Although I was given this book free of charge from the booksneeze blogger program, I am unable to confidently recommend this one to parents for their children.  The adult version was a better read, perhaps the illustrations just did not service Colton's message well.