With smooth flowing and playfully rhyming text, and detailed illustrations full of striking colors, "I Can Only Imagine" is a stunning children's book that I highly recommend to parents and libraries. This book will surely capture the attention of children and inspire them to set their minds on God and Jesus, as well as imagine what awaits us in Heaven. I really love this book.

This is a sweet book with wonderful illustrations. The colorful pictures depict all the action described as the child imagines what heaven might be like. From ice cream to campfires to jumping in lakes and playing with puppies, heaven is filled with amazing things, but the very best one is the relationship that exists with Jesus.

I highly recommend this book and young children will enjoy sharing it with a parent or grandparent.

This was a beautiful, fun book to read with my 3 year old! It really opened the door for some great conversations about heaven and it also provided opportunities to expand his imagination! (the day after we read it we laid down outside and looked at the clouds together!)

The illustrations are beautiful too...nice and bright and colorful.

I highly recommend this book for all ages, but especially for parents and grandparents who want to have more spiritual conversations with the "little people" in their lives.

This is a beautiful picture book that goes along with the popular song and now movie. The story follows a young boy as he imagines all the things that he may see in heaven. He thinks of things like having ice cream every day before lunch and camping in the outdoors. The illustrations are so beautiful and draw readers into the story. An ideal book for bedtime or family reading time.

My girls and I found this book to be a delight to read together. Every page had us looking for the puppy and seeing the funny thing that would come next. The full-colored pages are illustrated well and we enjoyed the storyline. Of course, the song is one of our favorites and that drew us into wanting to be sure to read this one.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ok book based on the popular song. I did not particularly care for the illustration style. Not really what I look for in picture books for a public school library.

This is a GREAT book. I read this to my daughter, and she loved it. The book contained great artwork, and it was a great story. :)

This is a sweet children's book and I enjoyed reading it. I feel it would be appropriate for you to read with your child and discuss Heaven. I believe it would be a comfort for a child who has faced the loss of a loved one. The questions asked by the child in this book are real questions a child would wonder about Heaven and God. It made me smile to read actually and the innocence of children.

I received a digital copy of this book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley for my honest review.

This beautifully illustrated children's book follows a child's imaginings about what heaven might be like. The things the child imagines--such as having pets there or gigantic ice cream cones--are definitely things kids will relate to. The illustrations are really stunning; I loved them. This book was a good discussion starter for my kids and me as we talked about what we think heaven might be like.

I read a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I Can Only Imagine by Bart Millard is a lovely children's book about God and heaven.
How children imagine God and how heaven looks like and what they would do when they get there.
Beautiful pictures that go along perfectly with this rhyming story make this a charming read for kids/

I Can Only Imagine by Bart Millard is a wonderful picture book for children based on the author's song by the same title. This sweet picture book brings parts of the song alive, while adding questions that children might ask God. The illustrations are beautiful as well. My favorite thing about this book is that it makes God very real to children's lives even here on earth. I highly recommend this book for children. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

Loved this book, simple and beautiful! Something every family should add to their collection!

Wonderful book! Beautiful words and illistrations. Great book to read with kids! Highly recommend!

I received an arc from Netgalley. What a beautiful story and illustrations. Lots of questions proposed and lots of answers given. The questions were clearly thought out and exactly what children think like.

Great way to introduce children to not be afraid to ask these questions and to learn that Jesus is here today with them every step of their way on their journey through life.

Adults will also benefit from this beautiful story. Great read and life lesson.

This book is a beautiful interpretation of the child-like wonders of heaven and of the hit single I Can Only Imagine and I think it came out in the perfect time for the new movie of the same title.

The Christian worship song "I Can Only Imagine" took the Christian community by storm when it was released. Millions were touched by the very thought of trying to imagine what God would be like and what it would be like to spend a day in His presence.

The book follows a little boy's heart as he tires to imagine that special place called heaven. He contemplates such questions as: What does God do all day? Does God have a pet Himself? Would he be allowed to bounce on clouds all day long and not have to wear a scratchy choir robe? Is there breakfast featuring fluffy pancakes and warm biscuits served up there? Does heaven offer ice cream before lunch with ginormous scoops of every flavour that resemble an ice cream bouquet?... and many, many more.

The diversity of happy children's faces and the wrapping up of a day filled with heavenly adventures terminates under a star-studded sky around a cozy campfire singing praises to the heavenly Father and His goodness.

Fun-filled, vibrantly coloured illustrations, depict children playing who are overflowing with pure joy. They are excited to share with each other about the day that they spent with God. They discover He is omnipotent and delights to take part in every aspect of their lives.

Written in rhyme this faith-inspired book encourages a child's sense of wonder and faith and encourages him to open up his imagination and dare to dream what heaven may be like. It assures him that God is with him here on earth each and every day as he goes about his normal life.

I love that the story is written through the eyes of an open-minded and curious child who takes time to be quiet and reflective, setting time aside to dream about spiritual things. I know this book will be an inspiration of hope as to what is in store for people of all ages now and in the future. "I Can Only Imagine" opens up a shared dialogue of the pleasure of having a personal relationship with the God and will have them looking forward to the wonderful things that lie ahead for them. As it is written in the Bible, "Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven" rings very true in this story. I highly recommend it.

This book was inspired by one of my favorite Christian songs. Netgalley sent me a copy and there was no way I could pass it up. Overall, I loved the message and felt it was delivered in a very age appropriate way. I read it with my 4 year old and the book opened up the door for her to ask some great questions. We had a great discussion and she's asked to read it again!

As a little boy goes through his summer day, he wonders what heaven will be like in regards to the things he comes across like messy hair, breakfast foods, games, ice cream, and ponders what God likes to do. He concludes with the assurance that whatever it will be like it'll be great because God will be there and He loves us.

Trying to do a 32 page intro to heaven is a daunting task. I like the message of reassuring children that heaven is a wonderful place prepared by a God who loves us so much we can't even dream up what may be there. It also reassures children that God is right by their side here on Earth through His Spirit, which is very important and a helpful tool in combatting fears. I was hoping for a bit more from the book, though. Partly that's my own fault for building up my own expectations, and partly I'm afraid some kids are going to read this and believe heaven is a giant wish-granting place (which kind of misses the point). I was hoping for the book to brush on wrongs being righted, the drying of tears, etc. because even young kids have a very strong sense of justice and are not immune to the hurts of this world. Perhaps that could be addressed in a sequel and this can be the gentle introduction to the topic? And I get that no book can do heaven justice since it is such a mystery. I do like the inviting illustration style and that they chose to have the boy come from a biracial family. Kids should be drawn in by the pictures. Recommended for Christian families with little ones who are often fearful or are curious about heaven. This isn't going to be the kind of book that will entirely explain heaven to kids, but it will open up conversations. It is meant to be read with someone more knowledgeable who can take the conversation further.

Bart Millard of the band MercyMe wrote a huge hit with "I Can Only Imagine." The inspiring song about the hope of heaven has now inspired a movie based on Millard's experiences and this children's book, I Can Only Imagine: A Friendship with Jesus Now and Forever. Millard wrote the book with Laura Neutzling. It is illustrated by Sumiti Collina.



In this book, a little boy tries his best to imagine what heaven will be like. Of course from his perspective, heaven will include all the good things of this life, like fluffy pancakes, a cool playhouse, a great swimming hole, and ginormous scoops of ice cream. (I fully embrace this last item.)



The best part of heaven is, as he imagines, that Jesus would be riding bikes with him, going on adventures together. And that is the core of our hope: spending time with God. He says, "Being with you is what I like most." This promise is not just for heaven: "I'm sure of one thing that will always be true--I don't have to wait to spend time with You!"



This cute and colorful book will get kids thinking about heaven, even if much of it falls into the feeling that heaven "is exactly like where you are right now, only much, much better" as Laurie Anderson might say. But Millard brings it around to conclude that no matter what we eat or where we play or what songs we sing in heaven, being in the presence of God is what is most important, and that friendship with God is available even here on earth.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

As I write this review I am listening to "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. This is a wonderful song and this book is a great way to bring this message to children. It has a young boy wondering what Heaven is like from a child's perspective. From playing, to eating ice cream and of course spending time with animals, this makes Heaven a less scary place for children, especially if they have recently lost a loved one. Of course the message that we can have a relationship with our father God and his son Jesus here on earth and they are with us always is also communicated.

The book started with the first part of the song and then was written in a rhyming text with an easy cadence. The colorful illustrations match what the child is thinking and talking about, such as eating ice cream, playing outside, or singing together over a campfire. This would make a great book for a family library or a Sunday School class or church library.