Title: Stairway to Heaven: Grandma Has Gone Home
Author: Stella Baeza
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-6655-1702-7
Genre: Children / Young Adult / Illustrated
Pages: 30
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
There are many things most everyone has in common in their lives, and that is the passing of their grandparents. In Stairway to Heaven: Grandma Has Gone Home, author Stella Baeza has crafted a memorable tribute to the loss of a grandmother to a young girl and her brother. With beautiful pages of illustrations suitable for Christian and Catholic church imagery, this book pages with the loving story of how much love was enjoyed by Grandma during here days on Earth. An elderly lady with a propensity for taking afternoon naps, and living with constant pain in her bones, she nevertheless had unwavering love to her grandchildren, keeping their spirits filled with Christ.
The story begins with this young girl looking out her bedroom window, seeing the signs of winter approaching and thinking to herself how much she enjoys the summertime and will miss playing in the backyard with her friends. She then goes on to narrate how her Grandma was taken away too early in her life, and how much she misses her. “If only I could have another day to have her in my life,” she says, showing the sadness of her loss. She remembers the food Grandma would cook, the best refried beans and enchiladas and other dishes. But her mother would say to her that Grandma has taken the stairway up to heaven where she is living with God. This causes the young girl to
imagine a magnificent stairway going from her back yard up to the clouds, with angels and bright white light surrounding the area. In fact, there is a wonderful illustration of this imaginary staircase within the book, worthy of framing and placing it in a child’s room – in my opinion.
Readers will see how the background of author Stella Baeza has been ideal for penning this book, as her professional experience with helping people in need along with her rather large family has been the perfect pre-requisite for creating this emotional read. This book will help all who read it deal with the loss of a grandparent, and most importantly instill faith and love into the children’s hearts and minds.
A quintessential book of teaching mental fortitude in dealing with loss, author Stella Baeza’s Stairway to Heaven: Grandma Has Gone Home is a must-have book to be present in the family library and available in a time of need; at the passing of loved ones.
