Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back
by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
(Thomas Nelson, 2010, 163 pages)
Little Colton was not quite 4 years old when his appendix ruptured. He was an extremely sick little boy and the surgeon was not expecting a positive outcome, but Colton’s family experienced a miracle when he survived the surgery. What Colton experienced during the surgery was extraordinary. Over several months following the surgery, his family was to receive bits and pieces of what Colton had experienced. He began telling them about being in Heaven and meeting people whose faces and names he could recollect clearly. Many of the details he shared matched Biblical scripture exactly, even though he had not learned it in Sunday School nor could he read.
Heaven is for Real is Colton’s story as told through the eyes of his father. With childlike innocence and directness, Colton describes Jesus and his great grandfather and tells of meeting them and how the angels sang to him. This is a wonderful story about a little boy’s trip to heaven and back and his conviction to what he experienced. It is an extremely fast read which I could not put down. I have read it twice and am certain I will read it again several more times. The book gives meaning to the phrase “the faith of a child” and has given me insight into the hope of that faith.