Anna's Heaven

Gr 3–5—Mesmerizing and surreal mixed-media collages draw readers into this intriguing story of the many possibilities Heaven offers. Young Anna's mother has died, and the girl and her father are on their way to the funeral when Anna begins asking her father questions about God and Heaven. Though he is immensely sad and anxious to head toward the church, he slows down, answers his daughter's questions as best he can, and actually smiles as he lets his child ready herself for the sad task ahead. Breathtakingly stunning illustrations take readers on flights of fantasy that can be both beautiful and unsettling. The endpapers at the book's beginning show nails raining down as the pain of loss is relentless. After the father and daughter acknowledge their grief, the final endpapers are optimistically filled with ripe strawberries in place of the painful nails. Beguiling pictures and stirring text may lead to discussions about death and the possibility of an afterlife, helping to ease bereveament.—Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI