Accompanied by painterly mixed media illustrations, a personified comet, at first unnamed and mostly unseen by any Earthlings, visits this planet periodically. As it returns again and again over millennia, the comet begins to notice changes. After a time, there are animals that observe the celestial visitor, and then one animal arts to live differently from the others, and the Earthly landscape changes drastically. There's even a hole in the sky, a phenomenon that's one of the scientific facts covered in the afterword geared toward more advanced readers. The facts on the comet and on various stages of human development are well written in accessible language, but the tone can occasionally come across as preachy. Still, children who want to know more about Halley's comet after they come across it in more general space books will find much to enjoy here, and those studying human history might find this unusual angle appealing. Back matter includes explanations of some of the concepts alluded to in the text, as well as a short bibliography.

A periodic visitor marks many years, and many changes, on a certain wondrous planet.Halley's Comet, depicted as an anthropomorphized shining orb with a long, flowing tail, sails across multihued skies in Benham-Yazdani's luminescent paintings-lighting natural landscapes that, over the years, give way to a growing human presence. From two brown-skinned faces peering up from a thicket ("The first time the comet visited Earth, nobody noticed. Well, almost nobody") to, centuries later, hands painted on a rock wall, scenes depict herders giving way to early cities, 13th-century Mongol warriors charging down a hill, and (in 1607) actors being viewed from above in an open-roofed theater. At last, in 1986, as two children (one dark-skinned, one light-skinned) watch from a beach beneath a smoky, industrial city, space probes surround the comet. They leave it to continue its long orbit, to reflect on Earth, "small and vast all at once, / holding so much life and such great promise," and to dream of "all it might see the next time." In closing notes the author identifies specific worldwide settings that she's depicted, from Argentina's Cueva de las Manos for the cave art to a traditional Hopituh Shi-nu-mu (Hopi) settlement. In addition to explaining who Edmond Halley was, she puts in a plea to leverage our works and will to "ensure that humanity's future is bright, not brief." (This book was reviewed digitally.)A splendid reminder that past, present, and future are connected. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Beginning millennia ago and ending with a mention of 2061, Benham-Yazdani follows Earth and its denizens via the perspective of a returning Halley’s Comet. Personifying third-person prose traces the comet’s recurring visits to the planet, which occur “about every seventy-six Earth years”; over the course of its many fly-bys, it observes that “one kind of creature began to live differently.” Images show humans of various backgrounds and skin tones changing over time—first looking up from brush, then leaving behind painted handprints on a rock face, developing settlements, engaging in times of war and peace, performing in a roofless theater, and then, in 1986, peering up from a beach that flanks a neon-lighted, polluted city. Mixed-media landscapes picture the bright, soft-edged comet shooting across an inky wash sky throughout this thought-provoking survey of human history that considers constant change leading up to “the future you help to create.” Extensive back matter includes an author’s note. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)