Consider the Night Sky by Jennifer Grant & illustrated by Julianna Swaney

ISBN: 9780802855640
Hardcover $18.99 USD
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

About the book: Explore the wonder of God’s love and celestial creations in this lyrical astronomy primer from Jennifer Grant and Julianna Swaney. Consider the sun, moon, stars, planets, and constellations―God calls each one by name. Guess what? God knows your name and sees how brightly you shine, too! Inspired by Isaiah 40:26, Psalm 147:4-5, and Matthew 6:26-34, the third book in the Consider series invites children to learn about outer space and the wonder of God’s love. Gentle text from author Jennifer Grant and endearing art from #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Julianna Swaney will encourage readers to stop and look up to the skies with awe. Set on a snowy evening, Consider the Night Sky is a cozy, inspiring read aloud for bedtime devotions and chilly winter days.

My thoughts:  In today's world where there has been so much discovered about the Universe and so much revealed through launches into space of equipment that takes us farther and farther into the depths of the Universe, it is good to have a book for the very young child that goes beyond "the man in the moon" rhetoric to simple, yet age appropriate, text that edges into the vastness that is our Universe.

Beautifully illustrated by Julianna Swaney, it is a joyful visual experience that will capture the attention of young minds. As author, Jennifer Grant, asks the young listener to "Consider the Night Sky," she begins with our Sun shining brightly on the Earth; she then introduces Earth as "our home." This sets the tone and begins the lesson. Night encroaches and we begin to see a sprinkle of stars. (Did you know they were various colors?) But I'm ahead of the story. Reading on, we see that when it is our night it means it is "day" on the other side of our Earth. That's because that is where our Sun is now.

Turning pages, we learn more about our night sky. But the author reminds us to not neglect to look at the beautiful things "closer to you.... like raccoons, leaves, owls." And as we consider more and more of the night beauty, we consider that "God created them all."

Such a beautiful book and so well done. I highly recommend.

My other "Consider" book reviews: Consider the Birds - Consider the Lilies

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.