Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth

Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth

by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Author), Frank Cottrell Boyce (Author), Frank Cottrell Boyce (Author), Frank Cottrell Boyce (Author), Steven Lenton (Illustrator)

Synopsis

Shortlisted for the 2017 Carnegie Medal and selected for the Tom Fletcher Book Club, Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth is an adventure about the Blythes: a big, warm, rambunctious family who live on a small farm and sometimes foster children. Now Prez has come to live with them. But, though he seems cheerful and helpful, he never says a word.

Then one day Prez answers the door to someone claiming to be his relative. This small, loud stranger carries a backpack, walks with a swagger and goes by the name of Sputnik. Prez is amazed at the family's response to Sputnik's arrival. They pat him on the head, call him a good boy and drop food into his mouth. It seems they all think Sputnik is a dog! Chaos is unleashed when Sputnik arrives as household items come to life - like a TV remote that fast-forwards people and a toy lightsaber that entertains guests at a children's party, until one of them is nearly decapitated by it - and Prez is going to have to use his voice to explain himself.

As Sputnik takes Prez on a journey to finish writing his guidebook to Earth called Ten Things Worth Doing on Earth, each adventure seems to take Prez nearer to the heart of the family he is being fostered by but they also take him closer to the day that he is due to leave them forever . . .

This edition features fantastic cover artwork and black and white inside illustrations from the incredible Steven Lenton.

$3.67

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Quantity

4 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Edition: Main Market
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Published: 21 Feb 2019

ISBN 10: 1529008816
ISBN 13: 9781529008814
Children’s book age: 9-11 Years

Media Reviews
Full of heart and emotion that might just bring a tear to your eye. If it doesn't though it's still got lightsabers and alien space dogs. * Tom Fletcher, Tom Fletcher Book Club *
Light-hearted and profound * Sunday Times Book of the Week *
Wholly original and exceptionally funny * The Bookseller Book of the Month *
a spiky, effervescent treat, like Spielberg's ET put in a blender with a bottle of Irn-Bru. * The Financial Times *
A touching tale . . . told with wild humour and panache * Telegraph *
A wonderful and exciting story about friendship and appreciating what you have. * Independent *
whimsical, heart-wrenching and hilarious. * Scotsman *
...classic Cottrell Boyce: zany, lay-out-loud funny and with a very strong emotional heart. * INIS reading guide *
This is an out-of-this world adventure that is also a heartening story about the importance of friendship and family. * The Week Junior *
Sure to be a hit with young enquiring minds, this is a tale which is heart-breaking and hilarious in equal measure. * The School Librarian *
Will send your imagination into orbit! * Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Blog *
Author Bio

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an award-winning author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Cosmic, Framed and The Astounding Broccoli Boy. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth was shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal and selected for the inaugural W H Smith Tom Fletcher Book Club.

Frank is a judge for the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition and, along with Danny Boyle, devised the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. He has written for the hit TV series Dr Who, screenwrites for feature films, including his own Millions, The Railway Man and the award-winning Goodbye Christopher Robin.

Steven Lenton is originally from Congleton in Cheshire, where his family run a pom-pom factory, but he now splits his time between Brighton and London, where he works from his shared studio. Steven has a BA and MA in animation and has worked as a successful animator and art director for children's television. Steven is the illustrator of the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam series (Nosy Crow), The Nothing to See Here Hotel (Simon & Schuster), as well as picture books with Elli Woollard.