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"I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless."
Psalm 101:3

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky

VERDICT: Recommended
 (with caution)

Concern Level: Medium

Book Cover for Reasons to Look at the Night Sky

Christian Parent Reviews Cross

Christian Parent Review

Concern LevelMedium
Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

Through a good portion of the book Luna shows unkindness, mainly due to jealousy around the girl her best friend has recently befriended. This leads to lines like, “Only I can still smell her stinky floral perfume and her annoying voice churns around me”. A chapter title reads, “I don’t care what Astrid thinks”. There is just a lot of negativity towards this girl (resolves in the end). Luna gets like this when anything negative comes up (“I’m so over this”). She is also dishonest a couple times. A chapter called “White Lie” has her say, “I feel bad lying to my parents, I don’t do this – not really ever”.

At times this book does show some of the ultra harmful, devastating, consequences of divorce on young children. The concerning part comes when the author tries to soften this (something we see a lot in books). For example, here her dad says, “Sometimes families need to live separately to get stronger again. Sometimes it’s the best thing for everyone”.

It is only very quickly in passing, but a female character Piper is referred to as “they” and “their” instead of she and her. This character is mentioned once quickly and then not brought back up (almost as if inserted just for this reason?)

A very kind, wise and loveable teacher who has native american ancestors says, “I believe we are made of stars and that our oldest living relatives are the stars in our galaxies. We are not separate from the sky. In fact, we are made of it”. The author has this same teacher say, “Sadly many were forgotten when our way of life was taken away, through colonization and residual schools. The language of the stars was lost too, stripped away, like many of our traditions, language and customs”.

A comment is made that a set of pictures was made hundreds of thousands of years ago and a reference to stars saying “millions and billions of years”.

Trying to be kind, mom advises, “trust in magic”. We hear more superstition later, “Don’t want to jinx ourselves”. Luna makes a wish on a shooting star. Young readers also see, “I guess sometimes it’s good to let fate decide”.

Other items to be aware of:

  • Luna unkindly says “blabber-mouth-Marcie”
  • Mom drinks wine on game night
  • There is a reference to David Bowie
  • The following terms are used: stupid, sucked
VerdictRecommended
Our Thoughts

While the previous section does give several items to consider, there is quite a bit to like in this book as well. We will share some of that below:

  • The focus of this book is on properly dealing with the inevitable change that happens in our lives. This is where Luna struggles and then grows into. In one line, Luna is told, “Sometimes it’s the things we dislike that end up teaching the most about ourselves”. She learns to give change and people a chance. She learns to deal with change and allows herself to be pleasantly surprised by it by the end.
  • There is a refreshingly positive relationship between Luna and her brother as well as between her and her parents, who show great love towards her.
  • There is some really positive attention put on Astronomy/space and (to a lesser extent) Biology.
  • The format of the book is great, with short, blocky sections.
  • The ending is very sweet, showing a lot of growth.

Overall, this feels like a book that most Christian parents could allow their children to read as long as they were willing to talk through at least the major items we have above (e.g., we get our picture of who we are from the Scriptures, and it has a much different picture than native american beliefs about stars, no matter how neat and spiritual they sound). We have this book as a Recommended title.

Plot Summary

Note: This information is typically from the publisher.

Use with caution

A sensitive middle grade novel in verse about a space-obsessed girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut — and begins to see the world differently when a substitute teacher enters her orbit.

Luna has always loved the night sky. She’s an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA’s summer space camp.

But when Luna’s teacher is unexpectedly replaced with a substitute, Ms. Manitowabi, who is looking to shake up science class by bringing in art, Luna’s carefully laid plans are crushed. And that’s not all that’s shifting in Luna’s life — changes at home and in her friendships have her feeling topsy-turvy. What on Planet Earth is happening?

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky is an endearing, poetic look at the inner world of a middle schooler grappling with change from acclaimed author and illustrator Danielle Daniel.

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Scripture Reflection

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 'I have the right to do anything,' you say—but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything'—but I will not be mastered by anything.

— 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

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