For Heaven's Sake: For Heaven's Sake - Hardcover

Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580230547 ISBN 13: 9781580230544

Publisher: Jewish Lights, 1999

Synopsis

Multicultural, Nondenominational, Nonsectarian Endorsed by Protestant, Catholic and Jewish Religious Leaders

What is heaven? Where do we find it?

People said "for heaven's sake" to Isaiah a lot. Everyone talked about heaven. “Thank heavens.” “Heaven forbid.” But no one would say what heaven was or where to find it.

After his grandfather died Isaiah was told that Grandpa had gone to heaven. Isaiah wondered exactly where and what heaven was. He became determined to find out, and sought answers from many different people.

In this charming story, award-winning author Sandy Eisenberg Sasso teaches that heaven is often found in the places where you least expect it.

About this title

About the Author:

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, a parent, spiritual leader and storyteller, is the award-winning author of God's Paintbrush, In God's Name, God In Between and many other inspiring books for children of all faiths and backgrounds. The second woman to be ordained as a rabbi (1974) and the first rabbi to become a mother, she and her husband, Dennis, were the first rabbinical couple to jointly lead a congregation―Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis. They have two children, David and Debora, and three grandchildren. Sasso, who holds a doctorate in ministry, is active in the interfaith community, and has written and lectured on the renewal of spirituality and the discovery of the religious imagination in children of all faiths.

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso is available to speak on the following topics:

• Nurturing the Spiritual Imagination of Children
• Tell Me a Story: Reading the Bible and the Religious Imagination of Children
• Filling in the Blanks: How Women Read the Bible
• Women and Judaism: A Personal Journey
• Midrash as a Tool for Spiritual Reflection

Click here to contact the author.

From Publishers Weekly:

Like The Heavenly Village and The Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Heaven (both reviewed below), this thoughtful, honest picture book offers answers to the question "What is heaven?" SassoAa rabbi and the author of such picture books as In God's Name (see Notes)Aworks in concert with a young reader's imagination: her approach is firmly grounded yet sensitive, responding to a child's concerns while leaving room for personal interpretation. Her protagonist, Isaiah, hearing phrases like "for heaven's sake," asks about heaven, but none of the answers he receives satisfies him. Finally, remembering that his grandfather was said to have gone to heaven after his death a few months earlier, Isaiah turns to his grandmother. She agrees to help him look for heaven, and takes him first to the soup kitchen where his grandfather had volunteered, then to story hour at the library and finally to a choir rehearsal. Isaiah has a good time, but doesn't understand, until Grandma explains: "I think we can get close to heaven and to God in a place in our hearts. I feel there is a part of Grandpa in all the places and people we visited today, and a little bit of heaven, too." Unfortunately, the delicacy of Sasso's delivery is not matched by debut illustrator Finney's literal-minded, often static compositions. She conveys Isaiah's internal journey by exaggerating everyone's facial expressions, so that what in the text seems organic becomes a series of tableaux. Ages 4-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1580230547
• ISBN 13: 9781580230544
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Finney Kathryn Kunz