Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

My dear,departed Mom coined the phrase "drugstore literature" for most of the books found on the bestseller list. There is a sub-genre of this that I call faux spirituality. In those type books everything is explained in simple,all wrapped up in a neat box terms. That is how I found this book.

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Sorry but I was immediately skeptical when I saw the dad was a pastor at some non specified evangelical,born again type church in the back of beyond,Neb. Where by the way,never get sick near there The medical care seems to be as bad as a third world country.
Anybody that read about the childcare sex abuse news back in the late 80's or who has had small children knows that very young kids will toss back at you what they think you want to hear. While I think this child did have some sort of spiritual experience I think he told his Dad what he had heard about God and Jesus at home and at pre-school Sunday School. I think Heaven is beyond our mortal comprehension and it is a serious case of hubris to think all of it is as simple as a movie about super heros. I refuse to believe we all get wings there and that only the menfolk will fight Satan with swords at the end of times! Best part of the book was the title his sister suggested for the book that has come out now that the boy is 12........He Went To Heaven but He's No Angel!

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Very cute. You’re going to love this adorable little heaven-traveler.

Colton was nearly four years old when a near-death experience awarded him a tour of heaven. The book is written by his father, a minister. In heaven, Colton met his great grandfather, a sister who died in the womb, and the angel

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Gabriel. His story is convincing and childlike. If Colton brought back any one special message from heaven, it would be that Jesus really, really loves little kids.

We do learn a little about what heaven is like. Everybody has wings and little lights over their heads. There are lots of colors there, lots of animals of every kind (including a lion!), and lots of swords. The swords are for the angels to keep Satan outside the pearly gates.

The first person to greet new arrivals into heaven is Jesus, and Jesus had plenty time to chat with Colton. Know why Jesus had to be crucified? Says Colton, “Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his dad.”

There is one theme in the book that troubled me a bit. After Colton’s return from heaven, he would become very apprehensive at funerals, desperate to know if the fellow who died had “let Jesus into his heart.” Because, he knew, otherwise the man wouldn’t be going to heaven. The author’s comment? Man, those Sunday school teachers sure are doing a good job! That picture made me a little sad; a four-year-old boy hardly needs that kind of religion.

Many of the images described by Colton can be found in the book of Revelation. That’s a bit problematic in one sense. As a scholar of Revelation and first-century Jewish beliefs, I assure you that Revelation was never meant to describe “heaven.” Several passages in Revelation make it very clear that the Bible’s final book relates the Jewish expectation of a general bodily resurrection and a new earthly kingdom. Why, then, would I afford Burpo’s book five stars if it differs from my interpretation of scripture? Because Christianity is a growing religion! Colton’s experience is contemporary; it is indicative of today’s image of heaven, not yesterday’s. Today, we anticipate a different kind of reward. We now imagine the pearly gates welcoming us to heaven instead of to a new world power centered in a rebuilt Jerusalem. Colton’s heaven is warm and friendly, far better than Revelation ever imagined. I vote we let Colton rewrite the end of the Bible.

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Wow! This is bound to be a winner. Four-year-old (incidentally, a very impressionable age) son of midwest pastor, slips into unconciousness, and has visions of heaven. My guess is that if George Lucas' son slipped into unconciousness he would have visions of Star Wars. People want to believe.

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Little children, being so impressionable, are more likely to believe the preposterous. Whey do we dismiss UFO nuts, and people who believe in unicorns, but we still pay more than adequate attention to people, who claim to have visited heaven and come back?

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Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back was recommended by a friend of mine to read. This was not a book that was sent to me just one I read for fun this week. Every now and then I do have my own list of books I like to read, this week I read three of

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them. So, back to this book. It will be a movie soon and was a rather popular one. I read it in a few hours so on the shorter side of story telling. My thoughts? How can one really say whether they like or hate someone else's life experiences? I suppose it comes down to did this little boy visit Heaven whilst he was in surgery? This is a very big debate for one to decide how they think, feel etc. I will say that from my own experiences things do happen that are not explainable. For instance when I was 18 I had to have a major surgery on my "lady parts". After coming around I was out of it and for a few hours became very ill. So ill in fact I was rushed back in for another major surgery because I was bleeding internally. As I was being wheeled back into the operating room I said "hello" to staff by name saying "Oh, I am coming to see you again today". These people whom I had never met in person. They had worked on me during my operation but I physically never saw them I was speaking to by name (and no they didn't have name tags on). So because this personally happened I felt it was a door I could not close and chalk up to a "make believe" story. I think you all should read this because it was very interesting. It was also very truth telling since this boy in the book is the same as my son now. I felt drawn to this book and could relate.
My rating is ☆★★★★.

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Wow. I picked this book up because I was curious, expecting to scoff at it. I mean, really, I had an idea of books like these that if "Jesus is being preached does it matter if the kid went to heaven or had delusions or whatever?" So I wasn't totally against it, but I didn't believe the kid went to

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heaven, either. I'm still not sure what I think about it, but it's definitely a fascinating read. It's got plenty of scripture in it and there aren't any glaring scriptural inaccuracies. That being said, what can I find fault with? Very interesting, to say the least.

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"Heaven is for Real" is an inspiring story about a little boy's experience in heaven. Its simple wording makes it easy to read for ages 10 and up. I gave it four stars because depending on the setting, like a school classroom, the content may be controversial. However, in a sunday-school class,

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children could draw pictures of what they think heaven will be like. The teacher could also create a reading circle for children and their parents to read together.

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Timmarie
9/27/14
“Heaven is for Real” By: Todd Burpo

In the book “Heaven is for Real” by, Todd Burpo, his at the time 4 year old son experiences a life changing event. Colton, Todd’s son, had to get an appendectomy and following more surgeries for abscesses found after. During one of these

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many surgeries Colton experiences heaven. Throughout the book more and more is revealed about Colton’s amazing journey and he talk about things no 4 year old would have known. This book was a truly inspirational book about a little boy's journey to heaven and back.
I decided to read “Heaven is for Real” because I knew this book was a movie so I wanted to read it. I really enjoyed reading this book because of how astonishing Colton’s experience actually was. His supposedly tragic story about being in a hospital for many weeks and getting multiple surgeries, had an amazing outcome. Both his parents, Todd and Sonja, were very strong to stand by Colton throughout his entire experience at the many hospitals. This book took place at many different places, Colton was treated at the Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte and before that at the hospital in Imperial, Nebraska, which was their home town.
Overall, I thought this was an Inspiring and engaging book and even though there are many ties with a religious faith I believe anyone would enjoy reading it.

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So I'll preface this by saying the following:
1.) I would have never read this of my own accord. I read it only for book club.
2.) I was skeptical going in.
3.) Though I'm a born-and-raised Catholic, I would classify myself as an agnostic, at best.
4.) I'll also admit I skimmed huge chunks of this

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book. It was the only way I was going to get through it at all. It was worse than I expected.

Things that Bothered Me (in no particular order):
1.) The first half of the book is the father rambling about his illnesses. Yes, I'm very sad the guy had kidney stones and breast cancer and [some other ailment I can't remember]...but I don't see what any of that has to do with the kid getting sick.

2.) If this was all so moving, why did they wait seven years before writing the book?

3.) The kid is 11 now. Don't you think that's old enough that he could have wrote the book on his own? Or at least contributed a chapter in his own words?

4.) Others have said this, but it bears repeating: isn't it convenient that this miracle happened to a pastor's kid? The dad keeps going on and on about how Colton just "couldn't have known" about so much of this religious stuff. Really? Kids are remarkably perceptive. I would find this all much more moving if it had happened to a kid who had never heard "the good word."

5.) The parents only dragged the story out of the kid over the course of years. As a parent, this is extremely odd to me. If my kid started telling me one day he'd been to heaven, you better believe I'd be asking some questions, and right now, not five years later.

Finally (and this verges on a rant), it kind of annoys me how many Christians are saying that this changed their life / moved them to be better parents / etc... I'm sorry...you have the Bible. The WORD OF GOD isn't enough for you? It takes a fairy tale as told by a three year old to convince you that maybe you should get your act together and start acting like a Christian?

Fundamentally, I was just the wrong person to read this book. I am not its target audience. A belief in heaven presupposes a belief in God. Until you can sell me on that, there's not much this (poorly written, highly questionable) book is going to do for me.

ETA (2/2012): I think it's pretty clear I think this particular book is crap. However, if you're interested in first-hand, post-death experiences, I'd suggest reading, "90 Minutes in Heaven". It's similar in its premise--a man dies, spends 90 minutes in heaven, comes back and tells his story--, BUT it's experienced by an adult and told by that same adult. (Unlike "Heaven", which is merely the dad's retelling of the kid's story.) I read it several years ago, but remember being much more impressed by it. I will offer the caveat that I was a much better Catholic/Christian at that time than I am now, so that likely colored my perception of the book. However, even accounting for that, "90 Minutes" is certainly the better written book.

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I'm not sure where to start a review regarding this book other than to say right up front, I didn't like it. Perhaps after years of church politics, I'm jaded. Perhaps as I've watched ministers cheat on their wives and people who claim to be very "Christian" act in an abhorrent "non-Christian"

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manner, I've lost a lot of the vim and vigor I had years ago when I sat in the church pew.

Perhaps as I've grown weary of those who preach about not throwing stones become the ones who catapult the boulders, I've shaken my head and moved along.

Perhaps realizing that I fall very far from traditional Christian beliefs, I'm also hope and believe that random acts of kindness are important and treating others how you want to be treated is indeed a golden rule to try to follow. And, I know that in judging the conservative view that unless one finds Jesus they will not get to heaven, I'm in some way judging those who believe this.

Years ago a wonderful Islamic friend asked her leader how it can be that even though I helped her tremendously when her husband died unexpectedly, that unless I profess Islam I will not go on to the next level when I die. At that same time I attended a bible study class wherein there was a very heated discussion by the leader of the group who told me my Islamic friend would be going to hell because she did not profess Jesus and her Lord and Savior.

I don't doubt the story line of this book. Four year old Colton Burpowas rushed to the hospital with a burst appendix, barely surviving, his minister father and Christian mother do what most would do in this situation...They prayed. Miraculously Colton recovered. I understand and believe in prayer and I wholeheartedly know the power of it.

After his recovery Colton begins to tell his family about his three minute death and transition into heaven. He relates many vivid details that parallel the teachings of the bible. I didn't have a problem with this part of the story. I do believe there is another life that awaits us.

What bothered me about the book was the literal translations and the overwhelming platitudes that ozzed off each page.

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Our pastor used this book as an extended illustration in his Easter sermon yesterday. I wanted to read it for myself. Just shy of his 4th birthday, Colton Burpo suffers a near-death experience in which he visits heaven for a short period of time. He begins to slowly reveal his experiences to his

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parents over a period of time -- telling them things which he had no way of knowing based on his earthly experiences. It's a very inspirational story, and I don't want to give away too much of it in my review. It's a good reminder to us all that we should have the faith of a child and that "Jesus really loves the children." The book was co-written by Colton's father Todd, a Wesleyan pastor, and by the man who helped write Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue.

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Loved this book!! It is very convincing and lovingly told! It is just a really amazing story from this little boy! Truely and example of "out of the mouths of babes"! He was just so matter-of-fact about his experiences that you felt like it was surely real! This book had me crying and laughing and

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just all over the place emotionally! What a sweet book with a wonderful message for us all!!!!

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Heaven Is for Real is about a small town, Christian, 4 year old boy’s near death experience as told by his father, Todd Burpo. I saw this book on the bestseller list on Amazon and wanted to read it for several reasons. First, I grew up less than 40 miles from Burpo’s hometown in Imperial,

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Nebraska, and that town is even mentioned in the book. Second, I have had a close family member who had a NDE and saw himself/herself lying on the operating table. Third, I am a Christian as well so I was interested in this perspective. And, I do believe heaven is very real.

It is an amazing story, but I do have questions about it. That doesn’t really mean I believe or disbelieve the story as I’m not sure how I feel about it and probably never will be sure. I hesitate to express any doubts about the story because I know it has given several Christians hope and a renewed faith. Also, and most importantly, if it is true I wouldn’t want to go against God in any way, shape, or form. However, after thinking about it, I decided to go ahead and write a review of the book detailing my questions.

First, the background. Colton gets very very ill (I don’t want to spoil the reason why) and nearly dies. Several months after his recovery, Colton begins saying things about his time in the hospital that make his family believe that he has, in fact, been in heaven. The details don’t come all at once but over a course of months and even years. Colton not only gives descriptions of heaven, but also of family members he should know nothing about. The tale is inspiring and amazing if true, but the questions I have about the story are these:

This is a minor mistake, but in the book Mr. Burpo stated that North Platte was 3 hours from Denver and 8 hours from Omaha. Not true — I’ve driven I-80 and I-76 along this route many many times. It’s more like 3.5 hours from Denver and 4 from Omaha. North Platte is almost directly halfway between the two cities. This mis-statement was the first that raised a tiny red flag in my mind. If he was wrong about this, could he be wrong about other facts?

Colton said that in heaven Jesus still had the holes in his hands, feet, and side. I don’t dispute that that may well be the case. However, there is some debate in Christian circles whether the nails were actually in Jesus’ hands or his wrists. I don’t know the correct answer to this, but Colton pointed to his palms when describing them. I’m just saying that some Christians would have a problem with this.

Colton said he remembered clearly what Jesus looked like. He would always say that all the pictures he saw of Jesus were wrong, until he saw one painted by Akiane Kramarik, another child who states she has seen visions of heaven. However, the painting is of a ‘Western’ Jesus, where in reality, Jesus was Jewish and should have Jewish/Middle Eastern features. Then, when I went to Akiane’s site and blog, it appears she’s not really Christian in the sense that most Christians consider themselves to be Christian. She talks about goddesses of earth and water and her opinion that we can find heaven on earth now. Both are views that most Christians would surely deny.

Also, it bothered me a little bit that actual people’s names (other than the family’s) were used. Maybe they gave their permission, but I know that most people in very small towns wouldn’t want that. I wouldn’t, but that’s me.

It’s not for me to determine if the story is true, only God can know that. The story is interesting, and I’m sure it has given a lot of people comfort and hope. It has to be up to every reader to decide.

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A delightfully easy read, full of emotion and uplifting hope for Grace into eternal life. Some values are super conservative, and all is written in a family-supportive, Christianity-affirmative lifeview. To be embraced by any dealing with grief or fears.

The story of a five year old boy who went to heaven during a serious illness and surgery. I read this the week before my sister's death after a struggle with cancer. I know heaven is real but after reading this book it just helped me to visualize heaven and reinforced every belief I have that I

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will see my sister, mother, and father again. I loved his picture of what Jesus looks like.

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Enlightening and heartwarming. Honest and warm and with such a touch of wonder. Colton had an amazing experience. I wish all unbelievers could have a peak at what he noticed on that day. Easy going and real is the way the book is written.

This book shares the story of a little boy's trip to heaven while he was having emergency to save his life. This book is a great inspiration that restores the belief that there is something wonderful waiting for us after this world.

hmmm I don't say this often but I took a lot away from this book. Actually, the only time I can make this much of a connection between my life and something else it's an episode of Scrubs. This book made me a little less afraid of what happens after we die. I am a Christian but I like anyone else I

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was a bit nervous of what the end will be like. I loved the part about say what you are thinking because God knows it anyways. Plus, I like to think that God shares a little bit of his power on me when I am up speaking and or teaching kids. He helps me because I am doing what he wants me to do... The end when the boy says he saw his father fighting monsters in a war, Armageddon. I am not so afraid of that anymore. Good vs. Evil in the end Good will win and go to Heaven. I can handle that. I want to fight monsters, dragons, evil monkeys or whatever. I can't wait for my family to get to Heaven. Addison and McKade won't have autism. I will be like I was in my twenties, which means no more GREY hair. I loved this book. Skeptics can say what they want it gave me a little more peace and hope.

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This is a wonderful book! I am not a religious person but this story has really made me think. This little boy Colton is amazing. I cannot imagine what his parents went through. It's an inspiring story that makes you sad, happy and if you're like me.....really think. Awesome!!!!!

This book was a very easy, enjoyable read. It can be read in one sitting- I read it entirely while getting my hair done at a salon! What I loved was how detailed the author was in explaining the hardships they went through and the blessings they were given. I was a tad disappointed in how few

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details were given to Colton's actual stay in heaven, but I guess it is to be expected since he was a 4 year old. It doesn't bring anything new to the table however, for those questioning their faith, skeptics and non-believers. Some will wonder after reading this book if this really happened, but again anything relating to the supernatural always has this response. Either way, whatever category you fall in, I recommend reading this book if only because it really is an easy book to read and you get to know a great loving family in the Burpos. However, it's not a book I will read again and again-once is enough for me.

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I'm still on the fence with this book. The "facts" regarding young Colton Burpo's trip to heaven are indeed facinating, but the book itself...not so much. I too am from Nebraska, but let me tell you Imperial is one small town and the author tried really hard to make it seem alot larger and more

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entertaining than it is.
I realize the size of the town has little to do with the book, but the point I'm trying to make is the author had little to work with when writing the story other than Colton's experiences in heaven and that wasn't going to fill a book.

I am a Christian and with all the bible quotes, sermon's (Colton's father is a pastor at a small church) and what not I found my religious upbringing very useful in understanding concepts in the book explained by using this type of informtion. I also think it added to the authenticity of what Colton experienced in heaven.
Like the father mentions several times throughout the book, many people call themselves believers, but still have their doubts, especially about heaven, because you can't see it or go there. I don't think you need to be a Christian or even a believer, but it doesn't hurt when reading this book.
All in all it was a good and simple story and the list is long of friends who are waiting for me to be done reading this so I can pass it on to the next person and that is what a book is all about; enjoying it and sharing it with others. This book meets those criteria.

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I approached "Heaven is for Real" with apprehension. I'm not overly religious, I don't generally read theology-based books, and -- thanks to journalism school -- I'm trained to be skeptical. Having said all that, I found the book inspirational, uplifting and thought-provoking. It's a moving story

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about family crisis and faith. If all the facts contained in this breezy tome are true, it would be tough for even the most hardened cynics to argue that "this" is all there is. I listened to the audio, as did some other reviewers. Unfortunately, I found the narration irritating. I'm not usually someone who pays loads of attention to technical issues, but there's a faint "hollow" sound throughout the narration -- almost a subtle echo. I liked the audio interview with the boy's father. However, it made no sense to place the interview before the audio version of the book. I stopped listening to the interview because it was spoiling too many "surprises." Suggestion: if you listen to the audio book, save the interview until the end.

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Four year old Colton didn't die-but he came close. And soon he is telling his parents about sitting on Jesus' lap, meeting the great-grandfather he never knew, and the great battle his father would some day fight in heaven.

This book will make you laugh, cry, and believe that heaven is for real.

I'm hard to convince about a great many things, but this touched my heart in a way that very few things have. My favorite part... "Well, Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad."

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The story is one of faith and not for non-believers. Todd Burpo is the author of this book and is also the father of Colton- the boy who recounts his visit to heaven while being operated on for a burst appendix. Todd Burpo is also a pastor in a

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small town and does a good job explaining details of events and quotes from his son, who was only 4 years old at the time of his visit to heaven.

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