James Gladstone

Gentle full-spread illustrations tell Halley's story, from the point of view of the comet, starting from humanity's past, journeying into our future. Simple sparse text is supplemented with historical notes in the illustrations that document different cultures' responses to the comet and the years it was seen and noted in historical record, to current understanding of the comet as seen by telescope and spacecraft. Back matter includes a note from the author about his experience seeing Halley's comet and his inspiration for the book, plus scientific notes on the structure and appearance of comets.… (más)

Large trim size and heavy weight, matte pages give this book satisfying heft that lends its self well to a centuries-old history. Full-bleed art in a bright, sophisticated color palette add to the experience. An unfortunate choice is the use of straight lines to depict the eyes of people in crowd scenes as they gaze up at the supernova; the history features many scenes set in China, and while the illustrator uses this shorthand for humans of different ethnicities, the choice reinforces stereotypes in the many scenes where groups of Asian people are depicted.… (más)