Up in Heaven

ANNOTATION

When Arthur's dog Daisy dies, she watches over him from heaven and eventually helps him find a new puppy.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Daisy is Arthur's dog, and she's devoted to him. But she's very old, and lately she's finding it hard to keep up with Arthur. One night, after she goes to sleep as usual, she wakes up in heaven. Heaven is a wonderful place, and Daisy loves it there. But she knows Arthur is sad and misses her. So Daisy finds a way to let Arthur know she's happy—and that's the first step toward making him happy again, too.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Clark (I Love You, Blue Kangaroo!) strikes just the right note in this soothing book about a boy and his beloved old dog, who one night goes to sleep and wakes up in Heaven. There Daisy-who can once again run fast-finds flower-filled gardens and "lots of new and old friends." Looking down from the sky at her sad young master, distressed Daisy asks her canine pals for advice, and they respond, "Send him dreams." When Daisy shows the sleeping boy how she frolics with her friends in Heaven, he cheers up somewhat, but Daisy "could see he was missing her." The other dogs then instruct her to "Give him a new puppy dream.... Show you don't mind." In the tale's most affecting picture, Arthur smiles in his sleep as his dream reveals Daisy descending upon his bed, carrying a puppy in her mouth. Arthur cheerfully accepts a previously rejected offer to get another dog and drives with his parents "out into the countryside, where the new puppies were." The lad chooses a tiny pooch (identical to the one in his dream) and announces, "I'm going to call her Maisy, after Daisy." Readers wary of replacing a lost pet may be further comforted by the finale: now Daisy can "really enjoy herself" in Heaven-yet still keep an eye on Arthur and Maisy. An uplifting tale for any animal lover. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Arthur's dog Daisy is getting too old to keep up with him. One night she goes to sleep and wakes up in heaven, a truly wonderful place where she feels young again and finds many new friends. Unfortunately she can't tell Arthur this. He and his family are trying to deal with their sadness and sense of loss. Daisy tries to help by sending him dreams of her happiness. But it is only when she sends a dream of a new puppy, inspiring the family to find one, that she can relax. This simply written story can help a child who is coping with the loss of a pet. For another, see Lesl￯﾿ﾽa Newman's recent The Best Cat in the World (Eerdmans). Clark's watercolors exploit the full ranges of yellows and spring greens to establish an emotionally positive world in a visual narrative that first hints at and then delivers a happy ending. Daisy's heaven is clearly distinguished by wavy, cloud-shaped borders from the straight-edged real world, where she can see Arthur and his family talking in speech balloons. Arthur's suburban neighborhood and Daisy's heaven are equally attractive. 2004 (orig. 2003), Doubleday/Random House Children's Books, Ages 3 to 6.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A sweet story about the death of a beloved pet, this is bibliotherapy at its best. Daisy, a dog, and Arthur, a boy, are inseparable until the day the canine lies down in her basket never to rise again. Although she arrives in a lovely doggy nirvana, Daisy can't fully enjoy her newfound paradise because she is able to look down on her former home and see her family grieving. On the advice of fellow dogs in heaven, she sends the child dreams that both reassure him about her benign fate and encourage him to move forward by acquiring a new puppy. Clark's simple text and characteristically child-friendly illustrations make this book useful for sharing with even the youngest children. Recommend it along with Cynthia Rylant's Dog Heaven (Scholastic, 1995) to anyone seeking comfort when dealing with issues of grief and loss.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews