COMET & STAR, A STORY OF COSMIC FRIENDSHIP

This friendship story is out of this world.

A lonely star in the sky just wants a companion. In the distance, it spies a comet with a tail that “sparkle[s] like a flame.” The star is thrilled and cries out, “Will you be my friend?” But the comet flies by without stopping, and the star starts to cry. After 76 years, the comet passes by again, raising the star’s hopes. The comet apologizes for its silence and enthusiastically answers that they can indeed be friends. Calling out, “Let’s meet again in another 76 years,” the comet races off. Their meeting, separation, and eventual union are chronicled in an amateur astronomer’s notebook featuring drawings, photographs, and doodles of the sky throughout the years. Translated from Korean, this is a lovely tribute to the power of patience, the wonders of our universe, and friendship triumphing over loneliness. The spare text complements the soft, detailed illustrations, rendered in a warm palette of blue, orange, and yellow to express both the dismay the star feels at the missed connection and the joy of forging a bond in this vast universe. A concluding note briefly cites Halley’s Comet and its multi-decade trajectory as inspiration for this beautifully told tale. The hands seen drawing in the notebook are tan-skinned.

Heartfelt evidence that true connections exist in the cosmos and beyond.