For more information, visit www.handshakefromheaven.com.

Show the ones you love how the Eucharist allows them to hold God’s hand. Teach them that receiving Communion strengthens their relationship with God and that through this sacrament he opens the door to Heaven. Adults will also find their love of the Eucharist deepening as they share this beautifully illustrated book with loved ones.

For many, the Eucharist embodies the essence of their faith, and yet, all too often, the act of receiving communion has become routine. We stand up on cue, approach the altar, receive the host, and continue on back to our pew. At times we may even choose to walk directly out the church doors without bothering to pray to the One we have received. Communion signals the end of our weekly duty; we have kept holy the Sabbath and now we can leave.

Handshake from Heaven reminds adults, and illustrates for children, that God is present at each service, every Mass. It is He who touches them during the Eucharist. We touch God when we hold the consecrated bread in our hands. From the moment of their First Communion Day, children should know that they are holding hands with the Lord. Parents can use this book to illustrate to their child how awe-inspiring the seemingly simple act of holding the Eucharist in their hand truly is. Teachers and catechists can use this book to remind students that faith and personal relationships with God are strengthened through holding His Body in the Eucharist.

When we hold hands with the Lord, He will take care of us forever.

About the author

Carol Sbordon Bannon is a full-time writer with a degree in elementary education. She is also a substitute teacher, tutors children with learning disabilities, and has been a catechist for over 30 years.

She is happily married with 4 grown children. She currently resides in Concord Township, Ohio. Carol is a member of the Catholic Writer's Guild and writes a monthly column for CatholicMom.com

Michaelin Otis is an award-winning artist with a studio and gallery in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. She is the author of Watercolor for the Fun of It: Painting People and teaches watercolor workshops around the country and the world. She is the illustrator of Sara Wants to Know. She has been featured in many national publications, magazines, and books. Samples of her other work are available at AvalonArtsGallery.com.

What's being said

"This is a lovely faith-filled book parents can use to share their faith with their children."
--Sr. Dominica Brennan, OP, Chancellor, Canonical Affairs, St. Paul Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota

--"A Handshake from Heaven is a beautiful book for children."
Fr. David J. Mullen, Pastor, St. Brendan Catholic Church, Bellingham, Massachusetts

Book Reviews

1. Armchair Review (Minnesota)

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.

2. J. Steilberg, Louisville, KY

I bought the book on line without ever having read it because I was looking for a book as a First Communion gift for my 8 year old son. I was so touched when I read it that I cried. The book is wonderfully illustrated but the whole concept of touching God through the Eucharist as a preliminary experience to joining God in Heaven was just beautifully done. Perhaps because I had a death in the family recently that this book touched me so much, but my son enjoyed it. I shared it with my son's teacher and she read it to the class. She liked it so much she plans to buy one and add it to their First Communion curriculum. Great Buy/Great Read!!!

3.Debra M. Wetzel,
I highly recommend "A Handshake From Heaven," for every Pastor, every Catholic family, every child making their First Communion, every Director of Religious Education and every 2nd grade catechist. This is the most beautifully written and illustrated book I've ever read about the Eucharist. I have been a Director of Religious Education for 11 years in Grand Island, Nebraska, and I will recommend this book to everyone I know.

"A Handshake From Heaven" talks about how we touch God when we hold those we love and when we touch his gifts (flower, butterfly, puppy). But when we receive the Eucharist, God opens Heaven's door each and every time. And nowhere else on earth can we touch a part of Heaven, except in the Eucharist. And someday, when God chooses, He will reach down and touch our hands once more, and this time, He will hold on tight. He'll walk us through Heaven's door and hold our hands forever because we chose to touch Heaven while we lived on His earth, every time we went to Communion.

This book is extraordinary and a must-have! I commend the author and illustrator for a job well done. Order it now--you'll be so glad you did!

4. S. Martinez, Atlantic Beach, FL

This is such a great book. A friend recommended it to me & I have shared it with my First Communion class & all of their parents. It is a beautifully done book with a wonderful message.

5. E. Villasenor:

I bought this book for my children 11 and 7 year old. They both were very touched by it. It is very simple, yet it holds a very strong message. I definitely recommend this book.

The Catholic Writer's Guide Inc.

A Handshake From Heaven has been awarded the Seal of Approval from the Catholic Writer's Guild.  The Seal of Approval is given to a book that is loyal to the standards of the Magesterium and signals to Catholic bookstores they can order the book without concern.