Todd Burpo - Heaven is for Real for Kids: A Little Boys Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

Heaven is for Real,

and Youre Going to Like It!

Heaven is for
Real

for kids

A Gift For

From

2011 by Todd and Sonja Burpo

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com

Cover and interior design by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Minneapolis, MN.

Tommy Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Scripture quotations are taken from the INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS BIBLE. 1986, 1988, 1999, 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Burpo, Todd.

Heaven is for real for kids / as told by Colton Burpo to his parents Todd Burpo & Sonja Burpo ; illustrated by Wilson Ong.

p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: Heaven is for real / Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent.

ISBN 978-1-4003-1870-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Burpo, Colton, 1999- 2. Heaven--Christianity. 3. Near-death experiences--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Burpo, Sonja.
II. Ong, Wilson. III. Burpo, Todd. Heaven is for real. IV. Title.

BT846.3.B87 2011

236.24--dc23

2011025323

Printed in the USA

11 12 13 14 WOR 6 5 4 3 2 1

Mfr. Worzalla / Stevens Point, WI / October 2011 / PPO # 124345

Dear parents and grandparents,

When you look into the face of your little one, what is it you see looking back at you? For most the answer is simplea miracle!

The love we give to and get back from a child is simply awesome. Nothing in our lives gives us the comfort and joy that a child can bring. But more than any other thing of value in our lives, the children God has given us need special care.

Children need someone to feed and watch over them, someone to pick them up when they fall, someone to run to when they are scared, someone to teach them about life as they grow up. Above all else, children need someone to teach them about Jesus and His importance for this life and the life to come.

If you have already read Heaven is for Real, then you know a little about our family and our son Coltons trip to heaven.

From the very beginning, Sonja and I were captivated by the simplicity and the power of the words that came directly from Colton about his experience. We both felt strongly that his innocent, childlike descriptions of God and of heaven needed to be shared with other children. Who better to connect with a child than another child?

Heaven is for Real for Kids is just thata childs experience of his time in heaven, written in his voice, with his wordsa book to be shared with other children.

But kids need more than just words; they need pictures too. The art was created under Coltons direction and drawn to reflect the experience he had during his amazing trip to heaven.

You may be surprised to find some details in this book that were not included in the grown-up book. Colton has actually shared so many memories that not all of them could be written in just one book.

We hope that you enjoy reading and sharing this childrens edition of Heaven is for Real with your special little one. But beyond the simple enjoyment of the story, we pray that youll join us in the certainty of knowing that, as Colton says, Heaven is for real, and youre going to like it.

N ot everyone gets to visit heaven and come back to earth, but Colton did!
When Colton was almost four, he became very sick. His mom and dad took him to the hospital so he could get better, but while he was there an amazing thing happened. Colton closed his eyes, and when he opened them

Jesus was with him!
Angels were there too, and then Jesus
had an angel carry him to heaven.
This is Coltons story.

Did you know that heaven is just
like the Bible tells us?

It is wonderful,
and it is for real!

There are many rooms in my Fathershouse. I would not tell you this if itwere not true. I am going there toprepare a place for you. After I go andprepare a place for you, I will comeback. Then I will take you to be withme so that you may be where I am.

JOHN 14:23

J esus is so happy when people get to heaven.
His smile is really bright, and His eyes sparkle.

When I looked at Jesus, I could tell how much He loved me.

Jesus really, really loves children!

While they watched, Jesuswas changed. His facebecame bright like the sun.
And his clothes becamewhite as light.

MATTHEW 17:2

Heaven is more amazing
than you can imagine.
I could hear beautiful music and see lots of colors.
Big, bright rainbows are everywhere you look.
The streets are gold, the gates are made of pearl, and shiny jewels are on the walls.

The foundation stones of thecity walls had every kind ofjewel in them.... The 12 gateswere 12 pearls. Each gate wasmade from a single pearl.
The street of the city wasmade of pure gold. The goldwas clear as glass.

REVELATION 21:19, 21

H eaven is not scaryever! There is no sun, but it never gets dark in heaven because the light of God is so bright. No one ever cries or is afraid in heaven. No one ever gets sad or mad.