The Comet

A sophisticated and tender picturebook from acclaimed author-illustrator Joe Todd-Stanton, following young Nyla, happy in her seaside home, but who must move to a flat in the city when her father gets a new job. Nyla struggles with the changes to her life; her emotions and the contrasts between 'then' and 'now' are delicately explored in both the first-person text and the artwork.

It takes the unexpected appearance of a comet and an explosion of imagination to help both Nyla and her father figure out what they've been missing: the opportunity to make their house a home. The closing spread, turned on its side, is a visual celebration of the joys of living in a tower block and the connections that can be built between friends and neighbours.

Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2023.