Comet's Nine Lives [Hardcover]

Jan Brett (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Searching everywhere for a place to settle down, a lost Nantucket cat investigates a bookstore, an ice cream shop, a sea-going scalloper, a theater, and a Fourth of July concert before he meets a lighthouse cat and finds a home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brett (The Mitten; Armadillo Rodeo), a Massachusetts resident, stays close to home with this latest book, setting it on Nantucket. Capturing the island's rustic charm, her characteristically bustling, elaborately bordered art showcases weathered shingle buildings, a gray-blue sea and shell-sprinkled beaches. Comet, the protagonist, appears to be just about the sole feline in a Nantucket otherwise populated by nattily dressed canines. In search of a home?as well as adventure?the roaming cat meets with peril. Snoozing in a bookstore, he is buried under a pile of books; taking a ride on a scallop boat, he's swept overboard by a huge wave; visiting an ice cream shop, he falls headfirst into a milkshake. Though some of these scenarios have comic potential, all eight of them prove fatal to poor Comet, whose ghostlike, winged image is in each case seen fleeing the scene. Brett, of course, makes it all better in the end; observant readers will have noticed that Comet isn't the island's only cat: side panels throughout show another cat in obvious search of a companion. Though not the author/artist's most finely wrought story, the book delivers a visual treat her fans (and Nantucket admirers) shouldn't miss. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-Comet, a white cat with orange markings, goes through eight of his nine lives in one of Brett's more playful offerings. Readers will enjoy anticipating how Comet will lose his next life: eating foxglove, having a shoe thrown at him by a famous actress, falling into a tuba-these are just a few of the humorous demises he suffers (and he always manages to look catlike, dignified, and somewhat surprised that any of these disasters should be happening to him). The Nantucket setting is lovingly shown and expertly woven into every picture. Elaborate borders are fashioned with shells, wildflowers, and fishing line; the island is populated by dogs, all quite realistic looking and all wearing human clothes. Attentive children will enjoy poring over these detailed pictures and will feel satisfied by the conclusion, which has been nicely foreshadowed throughout. Brett's many avid fans are sure to love this book.
Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1ST edition (August 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399229310
• ISBN-13: 978-0399229312
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan Brett is the author of the New York Times bestselling Gingerbread Friends, The Three Snow Bears, and The Mitten, as well as many other classics. She lives in Norwell, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, beautiful, children, and cat lover's story book., December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Comet's Nine Lives (Hardcover)

I love this book! Our cat is also named "Comet", but I would have loved it anyway. Comet lives on Nantucket Island and loses one life after another in this scary world ruled by dogs. Finally, when on her last life, she discovers a lighthouse where a lonely cat is waiting for a friend, and knows she is home. The illustrations are just incredibly beautiful. If you love the sea, lighthouses, and cats, you will love this book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Illustrations and an Entertaining Storyline, March 26, 2006

By 

Flower Girl (northeast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comet's Nine Lives (Hardcover)

As always, the drawings by Jan Brett are amazing. The detail shows just how deeply she researches all of her subjects before starting a project.

This story follows Comet, and adventure-seeking cat on Nantucket who manages to find trouble wherever he goes and quickly uses up his "nine lives" before he finds a wonderful home at the lighthouse.

For those who have trouble with the idea of Comet "dying" over and over again, try explaining to your children what the phrase "nine lives" means. Obviously no cat has nine lives, but anyone who has cats, as we do, knows that cats have lots of near misses. When we read this book we do not look at them as deaths, but mearly close calls.

A great story to follow along with the fantastic illustrations.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Art, July 10, 2003

By 

A. Y. Smittle (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comet's Nine Lives (Paperback)

As usual, Jan Brett's art is much better than the story.
But gosh, the drawings of shells and different scenes---you know the main scene thing she does, then the side scene about other things that are going on simultaneously, is awesome.
The characters are all dogs and cats, which children love. The kids will love the art and so will you.
Comet loses his eight of his lives quickly, but Hurricane Elmadore washes him at the feet of the lighthouse cat. He chooses to spend his ninth with her. Thats the cutest part of the story.