Muslims and schools in Pakistan, Jewish prayer books and Heaven

If you want to get along with people, you don't discuss politics or religion.  But I'm hoping if they're part of book reviews, with education and parenting mixed in, you'll still come back and visit my blog from time to time.

I might be the last person who finally got around to reading Three Cups of Tea.  But if I'm not, and you haven't checked it out yet, go out and pick it up now.  I'll wait.  You can finish the rest of this blog post when you get back.  It is an inspiring, true story that proves how much difference one person really can make in our world.  In addition to being inspired, I learned quite a bit about Islam, India and Pakistan.

Last night, I finally finished reading People of the Book.  I recommend it highly.  This one is not a true story but a fictional account of the journey of a real book, The Sarajevo Haggadah.  It's an intriguing take on how the book got to be where it was and the lives of people who came into contact with it.

Heaven is for Real was a quick read.  As I'd seen an interview with the author, his wife and their son, I knew that the little boy survived, in the end.  However, reading another parent's anguish over their child who was near-death, kept me turning the pages long after I should have been in bed.  It is certainly a book of hope.  The message is simple: Heaven is real. 
My only fault with the book is that Mr. Burpo claims that "almost-four-year-olds" aren't capable of guile or lying.  To some extent, I believe that is true.  A young child making up stories that completely agree with accounts in scripture would be difficult, indeed.

I have just been chuckling as my three-year-old has been telling me some very detailed stories lately, about a non-existent school that he attends, where no adults are allowed.  But that's his story.