Zayde Comes to Live

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When Rachel's beloved grandfather, Zayde, comes to spend his last days with her family, she worries what will happen when he dies, especially after friends tell her the Christian and Muslim beliefs about the afterlife.

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Jewish explanation of death submitted by willow on April 24, 2017, 6:50am I would like to suggest pre-reading by parents intending to read this to their children, as I do not think the description is very accurate.

The book begins with the death of Rachel's grandpa, and Rachel's friends friends tell her what happens after death in their faiths, as a way of comforting her. As a Jew, she is confused by the descriptions posed by her Christian and Muslim friends, and finds solace in the words of her rabbi and the Jewish emphasis on remembrance versus the specifics of the afterlife. This is therefore obviously intended for a Jewish audience, and may also be useful to families of a more mystical persuasion (!), open to studying the ways of other faiths, or less interested in focusing on the afterlife. (Those with more traditional Christian or Islamic practice will probably find it quite unhelpful.)

The main character in this story is a Jew, not a Muslim, and the book does not particularly present Islamic (or Christian) doctrine in a flattering light, so it should not be read with that goal in mind. It is more that Rachel is baffled by their advice and turns to Jewish tradition for guidance.

I mention this due to its inclusion on a list of books with Muslim heroes.