Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sally Goes to Heaven by Stephen Huneck

Sally Goes to Heaven by Stephen Huneck

Rating: 5 stars

Our own black dog--her name is Lulu, not Sally--is luckily not going to Heaven this week.  But when she does, I'm glad to have another book to read to my kids to make that lesson a little less painful.

I've reviewed three other Sally books (there are more)--Sally Gets a Job, Sally's Great Balloon Adventure, and Sally Goes to the Vet--and explained how much I like the very simple, very straightforward yet still very unique woodcut illustrations in the books. And I like Sally a whole lot!  How sad but appropriate that after these adventures and life experiences, she dies.  And goes to Heaven.

The first few pages of the book are about how difficult it is for Sally to eat and move. And then, the next morning, "Sally wakes up in heaven." And the joy begins!  She runs in circles really fast, without any sort of pain. There's a gigantic mound of smelly socks for her to sniff like crazy--hurray! All the animals play together; no one is afraid of anyone else. Meatballs grow on bushes and there are ice cream stands--for dogs!--on every block. Frisbees fill the sky!

Sally just wishes she could comfort her family and friends and let them know that all is good, her pain is gone, and that she is happy.

This is a very sweet book about a very sad time in the life of a family, but Huneck focuses the pet death experience about the dog and the wonderful things she's doing in Heaven. It's a "good to know about" book for when you need it.

(Another book very similar to this book you might also want to know about: Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant...)

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