Event details
We Are All Made From Stars – Conversation & Book Signing
With: Benedikt Lehnert (author) and Marc Majewski (illustrator)
Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
Time: 6:00–7:00 pm
Venue: Sullaluna Bookshop & Bistrot
41 Carmine Street
New York, NY 10014Format: In-person conversation and book signing.
Book: We Are All Made From Stars: A Picture Book About Life, Change, and Renewal
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Following the publication of We Are All Made From Stars, illustrator Marc Majewski and author Benedikt Lehnert will meet readers in New York for a conversation and book signing at Sullaluna, the independent bookshop and bistrot in the West Village.
The evening celebrates their new picture book, which considers one of life's most profound questions: what happens to us, and to the world around us, when life changes?
A story about life, death and renewal
We Are All Made From Stars: A Picture Book About Life, Change, and Renewal brings together poetic writing by Benedikt Lehnert and the expressive, richly coloured illustrations of Marc Majewski.
At its heart is a deceptively simple scientific idea: the atoms and energy that make up everything in the universe do not disappear, but continually transform. The matter that makes us once belonged to other things, other living beings and, ultimately, the stars themselves.
Rather than approaching death through a religious framework, the book offers children a way to understand life's cycles through science, nature and a sense of universal belonging. It is a gentle exploration of loss and continuity, suggesting that endings are also beginnings.
The origins of the book are deeply personal. Lehnert began developing the story following the death of his mother and the family dog in 2018, when his daughter was still very young. Faced with the challenge of explaining death to a child, he found himself searching for a language that could make sense of loss without relying on conventional religious explanations.
The resulting book finds reassurance in the relationship between scientific fact and ideas of interconnectedness.
Marc's illustrations bring an entirely different dimension to this thinking. Rather than simply illustrating the text, he creates a visual narrative in which the natural world becomes a metaphor for transformation. The Big Bang becomes a sunrise; atoms are echoed in leaves, flowers and stars; change arrives through wind and weather; and renewal is found in the changing seasons.
The result is a picture book that treats children as capable of engaging with complex emotions, while retaining a profound sense of optimism, curiosity and wonder.
An evening at Sullaluna, New York
The conversation and signing will take place at Sullaluna, an independent bookshop and bistrot at 41 Carmine Street in New York's West Village.
Sullaluna occupies an interesting position between bookshop, neighbourhood meeting place and café. Its carefully curated selection is devoted to illustrated books, graphic novels and cookbooks, with particular attention to poetry. Alongside the bookshop, its bistrot offers coffee, pastries and a selection of food.
The space has a distinctly European sensibility, reflecting its Italian connections and an interest in bringing people together through books, food and conversation. It is an especially fitting setting for an event centred on the relationship between words and images, and the capacity of picture books to open up conversations that might otherwise be difficult to begin.
For Marc and Benedikt, the evening is an opportunity to discuss the ideas behind the book and meet the families, readers and fellow creatives discovering it.
Further reading
Discover more about the making of We Are All Made From Stars in our earlier feature on Marc's collaboration with Benedikt Lehnert.
Read our previous article about the book and Marc Majewski.
You can also explore the book and the thinking behind the collaboration through Little Gestalten.
