Read, Discuss, Do with GOD'S LITTLE ASTRONOMER

Plus, get ready for the summer reading challenge!

May 22, 2024

God’s Little Astronomer by Tina Cho, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns, is a faith-based book about space! This delightful and educational read shares facts about the stars, planets, and space, and it includes relevant Bible verses on each page. This book is a great introduction to the universe, full of fascinating facts and engaging illustrations. I found myself sharing facts I learned from it while walking with my husband and dogs (under the stars).

Read: God’s Little Astronomer

Discuss:

Do you enjoy looking up at the night sky?
Have you ever looked into the night sky through a telescope? What did you see?
Did you know that Saturn isn’t the only planet in our solar system with rings?
What new interesting facts did you learn while reading this book?

Do: Make a splatter painting of the night sky.

You will need:

Black paper
Paint in white and various other colors (I used acrylic, but poster paint will make for easier clean-up)
A small paint brush
An old toothbrush
A cup of water
Newspaper to cover your work space
A paper plate to use as a paint palette
An old shirt to protect your clothing
Paper towel

To create your painting:

Set up your workspace. Cover the area with newspaper, fill a cup with water, and put some blobs of paint on your paper plate.
Wet your toothbrush, then dry it slightly on the paper towel. Dip it gently into white paint. Now, here’s the fun part! Hold your toothbrush above the black paper, with the bristles facing down. Next, run your finger over the bristles so that the paint splatters toward the black paper. It should look like a smattering of stars in the night sky. Tip: If you don’t have an old toothbrush, any stiff-bristled brush should work fine.
Repeat this process until your paper is as covered as you want it to be. You may want to make some stars yellow or light blue. If so, be sure to rinse and dry your brush (and your fingers) between colors.
Let the stars dry. Then, use a paintbrush paint some circles as planets! Give one of your planets rings if you want.
Optional: What other details can you think to add?

Other activities to pair with this book:

Go stargazing. Do you recognize any stars or planets? How many constellations can you find?
If you have a telescope, head outside and look at the moon.
Look up pictures of comets.
Find another space-themed book to read and compare.

Coming soon: The Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge!

It’s almost time for our fourth annual summer reading challenge! Every summer we challenge you to engage with the young readers in your life by reading, discussing, and doing all summer long with weekly book recommendations, discussion prompts, and simple activity ideas to pair with books. This year’s theme is Reading Road Trip, and we’ll be hitting the road on June 5! Each week will be a different stop on the journey, like driving through the open country to see farms and wildlife, soaking in the wonders of nature at a scenic overlook, visiting an amusement park just for fun, and more!

You can sign up to be an official Road Trip Traveler by filling out this form, which will make you eligible for a summer reading prize pack at the end of the trip. Or you can simply sit back and enjoy the ride. There will be other giveaways along the way.

Will you be joining us? Download the printable, colorable Reading Road Map and begin planning your trip today!