Review of Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids

[Christan Smith]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids" by Jemima Paul, Arvind Paul.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I read the title, "Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids". I honestly, thought it was a strange way to talk to kids about death. It's not. Perhaps, I catchy title was intentional to hook us in. Well done.

I gave this book a "fair" rating for a variety of reasons. One, while there are many people, including children who have similar experiences to the main character, but a majority of people do not. Many cannot relate to the encounters this fictional girl has, though I am sure some would feel validated if they had. I can see how the authors used the girl’s experiences to teach a lesson on evangelism, but the way in which they get there almost seems forced and unrelatable.

Two, I felt that while this book is geared towards children, it didn't have a diverse representation of families. The illustrations depicted a two-parent, Caucasian family with two children and both parents active in the spiritual upbringing of the children. Taking the opportunity to portray a culturally diverse family or a single parent home could make the story more relatable to families.

Third, this definitely felt more like a bible study text than a children’s bedtime story. As a teacher, I can see how this book teaches a lesson and can be used to study the bible. The book references several verses and cites most of them. If you intend to use "Snatched up to Heaven for Kids" as a resource to look up bible verses and evaluate them through a child’s eyes, this book is for you.

I gave the book the “fair” rating mostly due to the fact that the author’s decided to describe both heaven and hell. Many books on Christianity, especially children’s books, spend so much time on the love and rainbows of following Christ, that they neglect to share what happens on the opposite side of the coin. I appreciate the author’s attempt to do so.

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Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids
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