by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 05, 2010

Comet the cat was born on Nantucket Island, writes author Jan Brett - and there's a reason why she chose it for her story's setting.  "When I was little, I wanted to illustrate children's books, own a horse, and live in a lighthouse," she explains on the book's jacket. "The first two aspirations are now part of my life. As for living in a lighthouse, the next-best thing is to live it through my character, Comet the Cat!"

But the story takes a morbid twist when Comet dies on the second page. Sort of. The story is "Comet's Nine Lives," and it's showing how the cat burns through them all. Comet eats some foxglove flowers that make him feel woozy, and "Then he fell into a deep sleep." And Brett accompanies it with a silent illustration of seagulls fluttering away...

Jan Brett's always drawn gorgeous illustrations, but in this book they feel almost mystical. There's an eerie "mirror" drawing of a perfect sea shell, and another one that shows three identical flowers. She tucks these pictures on either side of her main illustrations (which are spread across the center of  two pages). It's like she's these unrelated side pictures to suggest the magic and mystery of life.

These "sidebar" pictures are a trademark of Jan Brett's books - and she sometimes foreshadows the way her story is going to end. Comet decides early on that he needs to find a home. And one sidebar illustration shows a lighthouse keeper putting a message in a bottle.

"Lonely cat seeks friend please..."

But Comet is still off getting in trouble - like standing on a tall tower of books at a bookstore. Even then the illustrations are very imaginative. The patrons of the bookstore are all dogs walking on two legs. They're wearing detailed clothing - overalls, dresses, and even yellow rain ponchos.

The tower of books topples over on Comet - and the word "Two" appears at the top of the drawing. And then Comet is washed overboard from a motor boat. As he's carried by the tide into the harbor, a small translucent cat with wings flies out of the picture's upper-left corner. "As he flicked the salt from his whiskers, life number three went out with the tide."  

It's a familiar story, but it definitely creates some tension. And it's even more involving because the drawings are so realistic. The dangerous situations also get more imaginative. Comet loses life number four by getting trapped in a tuba during a Fourth of July concert.

And he loses life number five by falling into a strawberry ice cream shake!

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