Comet's Nine Lives by Jan Brett
- Cana Clark
- Sep 6
- 3 min read
Did you know Jan Brett has a cat book? Originally published in 1996 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, this book follows a young cat named Comet trying to find a place to live on Nantucket Island. With every attempt to find a new home, he runs into trouble and loses one of his nine lives! Eventually, he finds the perfect home where he lives out the rest of his ninth life.
Jan Brett is the absolute master of using illustrations to tell a story — her side-panels offer a secondary narrative that comes together with the main story right at the end; in Comet’s Nine Lives, the secondary narrative follows the lonely cat of a lighthouse keeper who is on the hunt for a friend. As Comet loses life after life, the lighthouse keeper writes messages in bottles and sand as he searches for a friend for his cat:
Poor Comet, losing his lives and searching for a home... he even "wished there was another cat around to ask if its lives were going by as quicky as his." Luckily, right after he washes up on the beach and loses his eighth life, Comet comes face to face with the lighthouse cat! I just love the relief on his little face when he's finally with another cat! Jan rewards the reader with several adorable illustrations of the cats together (I can only hope my cat is that happy to have a friend if I ever get that second cat...) The book ends with Comet and the lighthouse cat gazing out at the ships in the sunset, with the reassurance that "Comet knew exactly where he wanted to live for the rest of his life."
As always, Brett embellishes each illustration in a themed frame — the frames in this book feature seashells, kelp, oars, coral, compasses, nautical wood carvings, and sailor's knots. The book is a gallery and a narrative; each frame could be nailed up on a wall and hold plenty of story just in that one panel.
Jan Brett books make for perfect storytimes if you're a believer in the whole-book-method, a method of reading aloud, that, as it sounds, takes advantage of the whole book — cover, illustrations, endpapers, and text. It leads to some delightful discoveries and Easter eggs made by the creators. For example, in Comet's Nine Lives, I was delighted to spot the chalk drawing of Comet on the ice cream shop's menu recommending cream-themed flavors. Pointing out the lighthouse keeper and little details like these on every page will make for a very satisfying readaloud!
The world of Comet's Nine Lives is an interesting one — you might notice from the photos that you see a lot of dogs in this cat book. All the traditionally human roles are filled by dogs in this fictional Nantucket. What an interesting choice! It's really quite charming to see chow chows, German shepherds, greyhounds, beagles, yorkies, and more all dressed up in preppy New England clothes. (And how funny that the health inspector is a gruff bull dog. Adorable!)
Comet’s misfortunes give us the full tour of Nantucket’s attractions, from ice cream parlors to boats to bookstores. Not to be cliché, but Comet’s Nine Lives really is a love letter to Nantucket. Jan Brett spent time in Nantucket as a child and lived in Massachusetts at the time of the book’s publication, so that makes sense! I bought the book at Market Street Bookshop Inc in Cape Cod. How could I resist? The book matched my trip perfectly! For anyone dreaming of the East Coast or eager for a summer readaloud, I can heartily recommend Comet's Nine Lives!
Book Info
Title: Comet's Nine Lives
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780399229312
Author: Jan Brett
Illustrator: Jan Brett
Pub date: August 1996