~The Heavens Declare – A Review

– – –
Normally, I review books written for adults, or at least young adults. Recently, however, I read The Heavens Declare written by my friend Perry Kirkpatrick, and while it is technically written with children in mind, I enjoyed it so much, I had to review it!

The Author:
Perry Kirkpatrick (formerly Willis, as seen on the book cover) is a young woman, recently married and living in Oregon. Coming from a large family of homeschooled children, she is currently the self-published author of two books: The Heavens Declare and The Light of the World. To follow her blog and learn more about Perry’s writing, visit her website: Perry Elisabeth

Technical Details:
The Heavens Declare was published in 2010. The book contains 116 pages divided into 7 chapters. As a side note: Perry is offering this book in e-book format for free, until March 31st. Go here to learn more!

The Story:
The Edwards family beginning their summer vacation, traveling up to a cabin in Northern Arizona. Despite experiencing unexpected setbacks, the family is excited to be on their trip. As they leave behind the heat of Arizona’s Valley of the Sun, Mr. Edwards, an “amateur astronomer”, loves to take any opportunity to teach his children about the Lord’s amazing outer space, and most specifically, our solar system. Beginning with Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, and ending with Pluto “The Planet that Wasn’t”, Mr. Edwards describes each planet, telling about the things we’ve been able to discover about them. Using every creative means they can come up with, from a pinecone war to a Mars simulator, the Edwards family has fun discovering the many amazing facts about outer space, all the while learning to trust in the Lord when their trip, doesn’t always go exactly as they planned.

The Writing Style:
The writing style was simple and easy to understand. The technical facts were explained and the dialog was, for the most part, very realistic. Even though I’m an adult, the book was a fun refresher on several things I had already learned about astronomy and I even learned a few new facts. Some adults might find the writing a little too slow or a bit too simple, but it’s perfect for a child to read and understand, and since I know that was the point, it was very well done.

The Characters:
The characters were well written and very realistic. The children were very well behaved, albeit not perfect, they got along well together and were respectful to their parents and elders. The two eldest children were perhaps the best-written characters in the book, but all the characters were well done.

As for my favorite character… I didn’t actually have one, I don’t think. I liked most of the characters equally.

Conclusion:
I would highly recommend this book, for children to learn more about our solar system. My little sister is currently reading it and quite enjoying it.

To the KING be all the glory!