Professional Reviews

Sister M. Dominica Brennan, OP, Chancellor for Canonical Affairs, St. Paul, MN

This is a lovely faith-filled book parents can use to share their faith with their children. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it in its beautiful, final form. With you, I hope and pray that many will benefit from its message!

An Armchair Review, Minneapolis MN, 2006

A Handshake From Heaven is a children's book that explains with gorgeous pictures and easy-to-read text our connection to Jesus Christ during the acceptance of the Eucharist at our Church ceremony.

Most children have simple questions about God, Jesus Christ and the Eucharist. This book helps explain how we touch God every time we accept the Eucharist from our priest, pastor, or Eucharist minister. Michaelin Otis' beautifully drawn illustrations show how we can touch God every day by holding hands with someone we love or interacting with everything around us; including flowers, butterflies and puppies.

However, the primary message of the book is the Eucharist and how God opens the door to Heaven every time we experience the Eucharist. A well-written book that has a fantastic fit with first and second graders who are usually approaching their First Communion and need as many materials as they can get that explain the process of the Eucharist and what it really means to attend Mass and accept the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Minimal text on each page makes this a great book for young readers to read on their own. Bannon also makes it clear that it is everyone's own choice to accept Jesus Christ and the Eucharist and the gift we are given when we experience this sacred moment.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for a young audience and even adults that are going through a Christian religious conversion

A Catholic MommyBrain Book Review, May 2009

A Handshake From Heaven is a wonderful children's book written by Carol S. Bannon– a teacher, writer, mom, and grandma. The book shows children how the Eucharist "allows them to hold God's hand" and "opens the door to heaven."
After a difficult move away from family, Carol went through a challenging spiritual time. One day at Mass, she experienced a powerful awareness of the nearness of God in the Eucharist. That day, she went home and wrote this book.
She uses the analogy of holding God's hand to emphasize that the more frequently we receive Communion, the more our relationship with Jesus deepens. She points out that kids "do not try to rationalize the scientific aspects of transubstantiation– they just believe the Eucharist is the Body of Christ." Because, as Carol says, "many adults need to rediscover this truth," the book has even been used in adult ministries.
Check out the website for some views of the book. It's definitely a great resource for explaining this precious gift to our kids.

Gilles Cote, Resources for Catholic Educators, 2008

A Handshake from Heaven is a beautifully illustrated book. I found sections of the text moving. The publishers' Web site describes it as follows:

"In this beautifully illustrated book, show a child how the Eucharist allows them to hold God's hand. Teach them that receiving Communion strengthens their relationship with God and through this sacrament He opens the door to Heaven. Adults and children will find their love of the Eucharist deepening as they read this book."

I agree with this description. I would, however, have liked the text to touch a bit more on the horizontal dimension of the Eucharist: this sacrament no doubt unites us more and more with God - this is the vertical dimension - but it is also opens us to a deeper communion with our brothers and sisters and makes us grow in love for them, especially those most in need of our love. This communal aspect of the Eucharist is not as developed in the text as I would have hoped.

Nonetheless, the book is a wonderful resource.

Father David J. Mullen, Pastor of St. Brendan Catholic Church, Massachusetts

A Handshake From Heaven is a beautiful book for children.

Father Bob White ,St. Victoria Catholic Church, Minnesota

I love your book on the Eucharist that comes at the mystery not so much cognitively trying to explain it, but in a narrative form of a story. Ultimately, that's really what the encounter is about – the story of the relationship with the living person of Christ.

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