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Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth
A one-of-a-kind story of heart, humor, and finding one’s place in the universe. Prez knows that the best way to keep track of things is to make a list. That's important when you have a grandfather who is constantly forgetting. And it's even more important when your grandfather can't care for you anymore and you have to go live with a foster family out in the country.
Prez is still learning to fit in at his new home when he answers the door to meet Sputnik—a kid who is more than a little strange. First, he can hear what Prez is thinking. Second, he looks like a dog to everyone except Prez. Third, he can manipulate the laws of space and time. Sputnik, it turns out is an alien, and he's got a mission that requires Prez's the Earth has been marked for destruction, and the only way they can stop it is to come up with ten reasons why the planet should be saved. Thus begins one of the most fun and eventful summers of Prez's life, as he and Sputnik set out on a journey to compile the most important list Prez has ever made—and discover just what makes our world so remarkable.
Prez is still learning to fit in at his new home when he answers the door to meet Sputnik—a kid who is more than a little strange. First, he can hear what Prez is thinking. Second, he looks like a dog to everyone except Prez. Third, he can manipulate the laws of space and time. Sputnik, it turns out is an alien, and he's got a mission that requires Prez's the Earth has been marked for destruction, and the only way they can stop it is to come up with ten reasons why the planet should be saved. Thus begins one of the most fun and eventful summers of Prez's life, as he and Sputnik set out on a journey to compile the most important list Prez has ever made—and discover just what makes our world so remarkable.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2016
142 people are currently reading
1676 people want to read
About the author
Frank Cottrell Boyce
73 books259 followersFrank Cottrell Boyce is a British screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor.
In addition to original scripts, Cottrell Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction, winning the 2004 Carnegie Medal for his debut, Millions, based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name.
His novel Framed was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year as well as the Carnegie Medal.
He adapted the novel into a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. His 2009 novel Cosmic has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
He is married and the father of seven children.
In addition to original scripts, Cottrell Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction, winning the 2004 Carnegie Medal for his debut, Millions, based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name.
His novel Framed was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year as well as the Carnegie Medal.
He adapted the novel into a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. His 2009 novel Cosmic has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
He is married and the father of seven children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
July 26, 2017
I am a big Frank Cottrell Boyce fan, and he did not let me down. Sputnik is a mysterious creature who can hear what Prez is thinking, and appears to others as a dog, though they cannot agree on what sort of dog he is. Prez is "temporary" with the Blythe family on their farm, and he doesn't know exactly what has happened to his beloved grandfather who he lived with. Sputnik, meanwhile, is looking for reasons why the earth should be saved from its imminent fate of being shrunk as his own planet was. He is unimpressed by Prez's list of the wonders of the world as they are only architecture, but he does find many other earthly objects to be amazing, especially the way he uses them. It's tart, very funny in places, and has one moment that made me cry. I almost never cry at books these days, but this one literally brought a tear to my eye.
It's a little bit of a slow start, but once it gets going it is very gripping and entertaining.
It's a little bit of a slow start, but once it gets going it is very gripping and entertaining.
March 26, 2017
Delightful.
September 8, 2018
Strange and interesting idea for a story, but I just couldn’t get into it.
November 27, 2017
I really liked this book because I liked the way the Author made Sputnik seem like a dog to some people, a boy to other people, and an alien to to other people. I also like that Sputnik has TONS of superpowers like flying, levitating stuff, and make when you press the pause button on the TV remote, you actually pause the thing you point at and the same with fast forward and rewind. I also think it funny that Shangri-La is actually a place for old people (Prez thought it was like a dungeon). Prez's grandad told him that he was going to end up in Shangri-La so that's why Prez seaarched that up.
July 5, 2017
I remember this one Christmas when I was younger. Under the tree there was this big box with my name on it. I thought for sure that it would contain the toy that I had asked for. As I opened it, excitement filled my body like lava convecting in Earth's mantle. I couldn't wait to tear into it and begin playing with it. Then came the disappointment. See, instead of of the toy I wanted, inside this beautiful wrapping paper was a new winter coat. Who wants a coat for Christmas when you could have a new toy? Not me. This is exactly how I felt reading "Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth" by Frank Cottrell Boyce. After reading the reviews and checking out the fun cover, I couldn't wait to rip into this novel. Reading it though, left me longing for that new toy. It felt disorganized and chaotic. It read more like the first draft of a creative fiction story one of my sixth graders could have written. There were lots of great ideas, but none of them were ever fully realized. There were too many characters and too much going on for a cohesive story to be told. The author was trying to share the story of a boy dealing with his grandfather having alzheimer's but instead ended up telling us all about this dog that appeared to be a person to the young boy and had magical powers. It just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I might reccomend this book to advanced middle school readers interested in physics and astronomy because the author included some fun science facts that might engage readers. However, other than that, I would not recommend this book as it seems more like a buffet table than a novel.
April 25, 2017
I am part of the Carnegie Award Shadowing Team so I have been reading and reviewing all of the shortlisted books.
I have already reviewed another book on the shortlist: The Stars At Oktober Bend; I reviewed it on Goodreads and also on the Carnegie website. My review can be found in any of those places: I hated it unfortunately! This is a review of another: Sputnik's Guide To Life On Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Very briefly, this book is about a boy named Prez who could stay silent for England, he doesn't talk a lot at all (it's never said outright but it is hinted through the narrative that he has a form of autism), and his grandfather who has been taken away for reasons that are fairly unknown to us. Prez is now living with this adopted family who are taking him in temporarily for the summer and at the same time, an alien, that has taken on the form of a dog whose name is Sputnik Mellows, has come down from outer space and told Prez that the planet is in danger and if they don't find ten things worth keeping on Planet Earth in the next summer, the planet will be shrunk.
So we have these storylines: Prez's sole desire, aside from obviously saving the planet, is seeing his grandfather again because he is convinced that once his grandad is 'sorted', he will go back to live with him. As well as this, Sputnik is obviously a dog-alien, not a human, so his view of ten things worth keeping on Earth is a very warped viewpoint in comparison to Prez's view of that.
I'm not going to lie: I went into this book with really low expectations. I don't know if that was because a) I was not impressed by the first Carnegie novel I read and b) I don't think the cover and title does the book justice! But in all honesty, I actually quite liked it and gave it three stars of five.
I don't think the cover and title does the book justice at all: I would have not picked this book up in a million years had I seen it in a bookshop! It makes it look like your typical, contemporary, easy, light, YA pile of rubbish that only children will be able to consume and actually enjoy. In reality, it deals with some quite sophisticated themes!
Another thing to say is that in the typical sort of YA easy children's book, one as a reader does not expect a lot of, if not, any, character development. This book has some quite good character development!
Sputnik was brilliant! He's very much of a 'beat-to-your-own-drum' type of character; he really doesn't give a toss about what's expected of him, not only as a dog, but as a character in himself! He does what he likes when he likes if he thinks it's right and can't understand why other people haven't thought of doing what he was doing.
Sputnik Mellows, despite being an alien disguised in a dog in a YA book with a let-down of a cover, was an absolutely fantastic character! Really really liked him, definitely made the book worth reading - he was great! One thing for me that defines good character development is I have to care about them if they're going through stressful things. I don't want to give spoilers so I'll say that around three quarters of the way through the book, there is something that happens which has consequences towards him and I was genuinely sad, I wanted to just be with him the whole way through the book. He really boosted my enjoyment!
Prez was…alright…
I feel like Prez got better towards the end because as we see him gradually confronting what's happened to him and confronting the fact that his grandfather may or may not be able to be with him again, as well as having this huge pressure on him to save the world, his character is developed further through those decisions he has to make. His character development wasn't phenomenal but it was good enough, he was sustainable.
What I will say is that the relationship built between Prez and Sputnik was absolutely spot on: not only was it quite touching, it was also hilarious. So many things happen which just made me laugh and brought so much humour to the story and they brought the book to life.
However, the adopted family was pretty poorly developed. The only name I can remember out of that family was Jessie, she's one of the children. Apart from knowing that they talk loads, what else do we know about the people? Pretty much nothing. I felt like they were only there for the sake of giving Prez another family and having other characters. They had no other purpose in my opinion.
So not all character development was that commendable but some of it really was so if you like character development in books, don't immediately cast this book aside because it has some!
Moving onto the themes: this book deals with some quite sophisticated themes. We learn quite early on that some people refer to Prez's grandfather as 'mad' because he has dementia so we know that that might have had to do with why he was taken away. Also, we also know that Prez's grandfather was very into travelling and that Prez has a map of all the places they've been together, one place of which was called Shangri-La. I'm not going to give away how but at some point towards this end, this map becomes very significant and I thought that was really powerful. The themes to do with your destiny and how it can or cannot be determined were excellent, the science themes were great; another aspect of Sputnik's character is that he's very methodical and always reads the instructions which was hilarious! So the themes it deals with in general are great.
However, I felt that as an author who had these brilliant themes at his fingertips and had a chance to use them within a novel like this, he didn't handle them in a way that was fully to his advantage. What I mean by that is this: this is a page-turner, it's a very easy read, it's very funny, very YA-esq. and it's good for a rainy day. But I feel that because of all that easy, light atmosphere, the themes just got lost.
I think that if he had aimed the book for a higher age audience and made the book longer and if it had been less adapted for really young readers, I think that would have helped the themes more. If the book had been more meaty and sophisticated in terms of writing and plot, the themes would have been more promoted.
Especially with the ending! When I finished the book, I thought: "Oh…okay. I enjoyed it and really liked the characters and the plot but was there supposed to be a serious moral here?" I was reading it and could sense that it was trying to convey a really serious life moral but because of the light children's feel, I couldn't fully take that in. When I finished it, I tried rereading chunks in order to decipher what Frank Cottrell Boyce genuinely wanted to get across and I don't want to have to do that because the themes need to be so powerfully handled that it makes a huge impact and I don't feel like I got that. The genre and the way it was executed really let it down.
So I gave this three stars - this got a thumbs up from me, most of it I enjoyed and it's an easy read with some really great characters. I just think it would have worked better as a more sophisticated genre with some more sophisticated plot because there is sophisticated content in this book! But it is an extremely interesting book to discuss and I'm very much looking forward to discussing it with my fellow shadowers this Friday. I'm pleased it's on the Carnegie shortlist, I think it deserves to be there. If it won, I think I'd be quite pleased! It definitely is in the lead as the best Carnegie book I've read so far (definitely overtakes Glenda Millard's novel!). We will see!
I have already reviewed another book on the shortlist: The Stars At Oktober Bend; I reviewed it on Goodreads and also on the Carnegie website. My review can be found in any of those places: I hated it unfortunately! This is a review of another: Sputnik's Guide To Life On Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Very briefly, this book is about a boy named Prez who could stay silent for England, he doesn't talk a lot at all (it's never said outright but it is hinted through the narrative that he has a form of autism), and his grandfather who has been taken away for reasons that are fairly unknown to us. Prez is now living with this adopted family who are taking him in temporarily for the summer and at the same time, an alien, that has taken on the form of a dog whose name is Sputnik Mellows, has come down from outer space and told Prez that the planet is in danger and if they don't find ten things worth keeping on Planet Earth in the next summer, the planet will be shrunk.
So we have these storylines: Prez's sole desire, aside from obviously saving the planet, is seeing his grandfather again because he is convinced that once his grandad is 'sorted', he will go back to live with him. As well as this, Sputnik is obviously a dog-alien, not a human, so his view of ten things worth keeping on Earth is a very warped viewpoint in comparison to Prez's view of that.
I'm not going to lie: I went into this book with really low expectations. I don't know if that was because a) I was not impressed by the first Carnegie novel I read and b) I don't think the cover and title does the book justice! But in all honesty, I actually quite liked it and gave it three stars of five.
I don't think the cover and title does the book justice at all: I would have not picked this book up in a million years had I seen it in a bookshop! It makes it look like your typical, contemporary, easy, light, YA pile of rubbish that only children will be able to consume and actually enjoy. In reality, it deals with some quite sophisticated themes!
Another thing to say is that in the typical sort of YA easy children's book, one as a reader does not expect a lot of, if not, any, character development. This book has some quite good character development!
Sputnik was brilliant! He's very much of a 'beat-to-your-own-drum' type of character; he really doesn't give a toss about what's expected of him, not only as a dog, but as a character in himself! He does what he likes when he likes if he thinks it's right and can't understand why other people haven't thought of doing what he was doing.
Sputnik Mellows, despite being an alien disguised in a dog in a YA book with a let-down of a cover, was an absolutely fantastic character! Really really liked him, definitely made the book worth reading - he was great! One thing for me that defines good character development is I have to care about them if they're going through stressful things. I don't want to give spoilers so I'll say that around three quarters of the way through the book, there is something that happens which has consequences towards him and I was genuinely sad, I wanted to just be with him the whole way through the book. He really boosted my enjoyment!
Prez was…alright…
I feel like Prez got better towards the end because as we see him gradually confronting what's happened to him and confronting the fact that his grandfather may or may not be able to be with him again, as well as having this huge pressure on him to save the world, his character is developed further through those decisions he has to make. His character development wasn't phenomenal but it was good enough, he was sustainable.
What I will say is that the relationship built between Prez and Sputnik was absolutely spot on: not only was it quite touching, it was also hilarious. So many things happen which just made me laugh and brought so much humour to the story and they brought the book to life.
However, the adopted family was pretty poorly developed. The only name I can remember out of that family was Jessie, she's one of the children. Apart from knowing that they talk loads, what else do we know about the people? Pretty much nothing. I felt like they were only there for the sake of giving Prez another family and having other characters. They had no other purpose in my opinion.
So not all character development was that commendable but some of it really was so if you like character development in books, don't immediately cast this book aside because it has some!
Moving onto the themes: this book deals with some quite sophisticated themes. We learn quite early on that some people refer to Prez's grandfather as 'mad' because he has dementia so we know that that might have had to do with why he was taken away. Also, we also know that Prez's grandfather was very into travelling and that Prez has a map of all the places they've been together, one place of which was called Shangri-La. I'm not going to give away how but at some point towards this end, this map becomes very significant and I thought that was really powerful. The themes to do with your destiny and how it can or cannot be determined were excellent, the science themes were great; another aspect of Sputnik's character is that he's very methodical and always reads the instructions which was hilarious! So the themes it deals with in general are great.
However, I felt that as an author who had these brilliant themes at his fingertips and had a chance to use them within a novel like this, he didn't handle them in a way that was fully to his advantage. What I mean by that is this: this is a page-turner, it's a very easy read, it's very funny, very YA-esq. and it's good for a rainy day. But I feel that because of all that easy, light atmosphere, the themes just got lost.
I think that if he had aimed the book for a higher age audience and made the book longer and if it had been less adapted for really young readers, I think that would have helped the themes more. If the book had been more meaty and sophisticated in terms of writing and plot, the themes would have been more promoted.
Especially with the ending! When I finished the book, I thought: "Oh…okay. I enjoyed it and really liked the characters and the plot but was there supposed to be a serious moral here?" I was reading it and could sense that it was trying to convey a really serious life moral but because of the light children's feel, I couldn't fully take that in. When I finished it, I tried rereading chunks in order to decipher what Frank Cottrell Boyce genuinely wanted to get across and I don't want to have to do that because the themes need to be so powerfully handled that it makes a huge impact and I don't feel like I got that. The genre and the way it was executed really let it down.
So I gave this three stars - this got a thumbs up from me, most of it I enjoyed and it's an easy read with some really great characters. I just think it would have worked better as a more sophisticated genre with some more sophisticated plot because there is sophisticated content in this book! But it is an extremely interesting book to discuss and I'm very much looking forward to discussing it with my fellow shadowers this Friday. I'm pleased it's on the Carnegie shortlist, I think it deserves to be there. If it won, I think I'd be quite pleased! It definitely is in the lead as the best Carnegie book I've read so far (definitely overtakes Glenda Millard's novel!). We will see!
October 8, 2017
Sometimes, when adultland gets to be too much to bear, it's nice to dive head first into a children's book. Frank Cottrell Boyce is a safe bet: he has won the British Carnegie Medal in 2004 for "Millions" (which originated as a screenplay and was made into a film), and his most recent children's novel was shortlisted for the 2017 Carnegie Medal. The words I would use to describe this book are 'zany' and 'madcap', but the ending is surprisingly tender. I have great admiration for a writer with this quirky, off-the-wall sort of imagination. I can't imagine a kid not loving this book.
Ok, to the plot: in brief, an alien from outer space has landed on earth and must find out ten good reasons to save the planet; otherwise it will be shrunk to the size of a little ball. This alien appears on the doorstep of a farm where a foster child, Prez (short for Preston), is spending the summer. Prez had been living with his grandfather until Granddad began to have memory issues. Granddad was sent off to an old folks home and Prez was put in "temporary care". When the alien, whom we soon learn is named "Sputnik", shows up, he appears to Prez as a funny-looking kid in a kilt, wearing goggles. He soon learns that Sputnik can hear his thoughts and that to other people, he looks like a dog. (The farm family is inordinately charmed by Sputnik's handshakes all around.)
From the moment Sputnik appears, life is never boring. He has super alien abilities and can turn any challenge into a wild adventure. The juxtaposition of quiet Prez (a kid who rarely speaks) and Sputnik, who fears nothing, will just pull you willingly into their crazy adventures. I was laughing aloud. At the same time, you feel for Prez, who wonders when Granddad will come back and their life will resume. In the beginning, he thinks his Granddad is in jail. He keeps his backpack packed, in preparation for returning home. Now, that is just sad. For Sputnik, though, no problem is insurmountable. The ending is not tidy, but it is satisfying. This is an utterly charming read with that rare quality of being able to appeal to any age.
Ok, to the plot: in brief, an alien from outer space has landed on earth and must find out ten good reasons to save the planet; otherwise it will be shrunk to the size of a little ball. This alien appears on the doorstep of a farm where a foster child, Prez (short for Preston), is spending the summer. Prez had been living with his grandfather until Granddad began to have memory issues. Granddad was sent off to an old folks home and Prez was put in "temporary care". When the alien, whom we soon learn is named "Sputnik", shows up, he appears to Prez as a funny-looking kid in a kilt, wearing goggles. He soon learns that Sputnik can hear his thoughts and that to other people, he looks like a dog. (The farm family is inordinately charmed by Sputnik's handshakes all around.)
From the moment Sputnik appears, life is never boring. He has super alien abilities and can turn any challenge into a wild adventure. The juxtaposition of quiet Prez (a kid who rarely speaks) and Sputnik, who fears nothing, will just pull you willingly into their crazy adventures. I was laughing aloud. At the same time, you feel for Prez, who wonders when Granddad will come back and their life will resume. In the beginning, he thinks his Granddad is in jail. He keeps his backpack packed, in preparation for returning home. Now, that is just sad. For Sputnik, though, no problem is insurmountable. The ending is not tidy, but it is satisfying. This is an utterly charming read with that rare quality of being able to appeal to any age.
October 3, 2017
It's a great author who can make the reader believe the unbelievable. (And it's crazy-making that at least one part of the unbelievable is actually TRUE. This from the NYTimes daily briefing today: "Rainer Weiss, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Kip Thorne and Barry Barish, both of the California Institute of Technology, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics today for the discovery of ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves.
The waves were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago but had never been directly seen." These gravitational waves are a key plot point in Boyce's story.)
Prez and Sputnik, the creature who looks like a dog to everyone else, but who looks like a wee man in a baggy sweater, a kilt, a leather pilot's helmet, and flying goggles to Prez, set out to create a list of 10 things that will make Earth worth saving. Does that sound too weird? Don't worry. You'll love it.
The waves were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago but had never been directly seen." These gravitational waves are a key plot point in Boyce's story.)
Prez and Sputnik, the creature who looks like a dog to everyone else, but who looks like a wee man in a baggy sweater, a kilt, a leather pilot's helmet, and flying goggles to Prez, set out to create a list of 10 things that will make Earth worth saving. Does that sound too weird? Don't worry. You'll love it.
November 23, 2016
A young boy meets an alien.
This story was too bizarre for me and I couldn’t engage with it (which is probably because I’m not the target audience).
This story was too bizarre for me and I couldn’t engage with it (which is probably because I’m not the target audience).
August 7, 2017
I absolutely loved this book! It is utterly joyous from start to finish, with one of the best openings to a book I have ever read.
December 26, 2019
I had purchased this middle grade book for my nephew since I want him to read more and his teacher says he's not reading enough. I knew what he likes and after doing some research I felt this book was right for him. My nephew didn't want the book and doesn't like reading so I'm not going to force him and let my brother deal with him lol. Before returning it back I read the first three characters and got hooked.
The story follows a boy named Prez and his grandfather who happens to have alzheimers and Prez is forced to live with a foster family. While he's there the doorbell rings and Prez meets a boy Sputnik, like himself but to others sees this boy a dog. Sputnik tells Prez that earth is in danger and needs him to help save earth.
I really loved this story, it's exciting, enjoyable, fun, and adorable. I highly recommend this book for kids. Definitely worth reading or purchasing it for any middle grade child.
The story follows a boy named Prez and his grandfather who happens to have alzheimers and Prez is forced to live with a foster family. While he's there the doorbell rings and Prez meets a boy Sputnik, like himself but to others sees this boy a dog. Sputnik tells Prez that earth is in danger and needs him to help save earth.
I really loved this story, it's exciting, enjoyable, fun, and adorable. I highly recommend this book for kids. Definitely worth reading or purchasing it for any middle grade child.
September 15, 2017
First sentence: Before you start anything, make a list. That's what my grandad says. If you're making a cake, make a list. If you're moving house, make a list. If you're running away to sea, make a list. At least that's what he used to say.
Premise/plot: Prez Mellows is a foster kid who doesn't say much--until one day Sputnik shows up at the door of his new temporary home. To the rest of the world, Sputnik appears to be an ordinary dog. Only Prez sees him for who he is or perhaps what he is--an alien who can read his mind. Sputnik tells Prez that he's the reason he came to earth. Together they have an important job to do: save earth from destruction by coming up with a list of ten reasons why earth is worth seeing. Prez balances this mission with an even greater one: how to be reunited with his Grandad again.
My thoughts: This was an enjoyable read. It dealt with a serious topic yet it wasn't too heavy. It had heart, but it wasn't about making you cry. Prez's grandad has dementia; his dementia has caused the two to be separated. He has to go in a nursing home where he can be cared for properly, and Prez has to go to a foster home. Sputnik was a hoot. This one packed in plenty of adventure. I enjoyed Prez's new foster family as well.
Premise/plot: Prez Mellows is a foster kid who doesn't say much--until one day Sputnik shows up at the door of his new temporary home. To the rest of the world, Sputnik appears to be an ordinary dog. Only Prez sees him for who he is or perhaps what he is--an alien who can read his mind. Sputnik tells Prez that he's the reason he came to earth. Together they have an important job to do: save earth from destruction by coming up with a list of ten reasons why earth is worth seeing. Prez balances this mission with an even greater one: how to be reunited with his Grandad again.
My thoughts: This was an enjoyable read. It dealt with a serious topic yet it wasn't too heavy. It had heart, but it wasn't about making you cry. Prez's grandad has dementia; his dementia has caused the two to be separated. He has to go in a nursing home where he can be cared for properly, and Prez has to go to a foster home. Sputnik was a hoot. This one packed in plenty of adventure. I enjoyed Prez's new foster family as well.
"You get homesick? But you said you didn't have a home." "You don't have to have a home to get homesick. You just have to want one. The whole history of your wee planet is nothing but people looking for a home.
May 31, 2017
Surreal, yet heartwarming and lots of fun. This was my son's bedtime story and we both enjoyed it immensely.
May 6, 2019
I loved reading the adventures that Prez and Sputnick went on! I want to keep Sputnick!!
June 21, 2017
Funny and heartfelt - a lovely read.
October 22, 2020
Thank goodness my library has a better alternate cover.
Anyway the book opens with a nice prologue that shows a list. That list is what happened during the summer and is the chapter title for each section.
Anyway...
Sputnik is an imaginary friend there to help our main character Prez explore the complex universe of mankind.
What I like about this story is that interesting loopholes of information get explored.
Sputnik can read minds and mess up the world and this where things get funky for me.
Like for instance...
Can you get a toy lightsaber to actually work? That’s what happens in this book. I laughed so hard when the children ran all over the place destroying things.
You know what they all say...a book that I wanted finally came in.
So to this fabulous I book...until we meet again.
—————————————————-
I tried to think of all the things that made me try and help Grandad. Being scared of losing him. Wanting him not to change. Wanting to make sure he was all right. Wanting to make him laugh. Wanting to laugh with him. Wanting that feeling when we laughed together. The feeling of home. Wanting that feeling back. Wanting home.
I finally decided to read this and finish it.
And I was so just so heartbroken in the end. My mind is still numb.
The story follows our protagonist Prez as he tries to get back his Grandpa and take care of him. Meanwhile, a mysterious alien named Sputnik arrives to come tell Prez that the planet needs to be saved.
How? When a list of ten marvelous things that makes this world unique is written down. And as the book says, the most wild summer is drawn out as Prez and Sputnik set out to do just that.
It’s slow at first.
But then the story started and it really made me excited and I even laughed at times.
And the last few pages made me try not to break down and throw the book across the room. Those past few pages were just sad.
Anyway the book opens with a nice prologue that shows a list. That list is what happened during the summer and is the chapter title for each section.
Anyway...
Sputnik is an imaginary friend there to help our main character Prez explore the complex universe of mankind.
What I like about this story is that interesting loopholes of information get explored.
Sputnik can read minds and mess up the world and this where things get funky for me.
Like for instance...
Can you get a toy lightsaber to actually work? That’s what happens in this book. I laughed so hard when the children ran all over the place destroying things.
You know what they all say...a book that I wanted finally came in.
So to this fabulous I book...until we meet again.
—————————————————-
I tried to think of all the things that made me try and help Grandad. Being scared of losing him. Wanting him not to change. Wanting to make sure he was all right. Wanting to make him laugh. Wanting to laugh with him. Wanting that feeling when we laughed together. The feeling of home. Wanting that feeling back. Wanting home.
I finally decided to read this and finish it.
And I was so just so heartbroken in the end. My mind is still numb.
The story follows our protagonist Prez as he tries to get back his Grandpa and take care of him. Meanwhile, a mysterious alien named Sputnik arrives to come tell Prez that the planet needs to be saved.
How? When a list of ten marvelous things that makes this world unique is written down. And as the book says, the most wild summer is drawn out as Prez and Sputnik set out to do just that.
It’s slow at first.
But then the story started and it really made me excited and I even laughed at times.
And the last few pages made me try not to break down and throw the book across the room. Those past few pages were just sad.
April 30, 2016
I absolutely love Frank Cottrell Boyce's stories. I discovered them through my children, and Cosmic is my favorite book of all times along with His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. I bought this new book in ASDA, I was so excited he wrote another book, he doesn't write very often, I have nearly given up on waiting. (even though I realised Frank C B wrote another book before as well, something to do with broccoli).
Last night my 10 year old son and I were reading the adventures of Sputnik till it was nearly midnight (well it was Friday, so no school or work the following day). My children and I love Frank Cottrell Boyce's books, they are so sooo kind and compassionate, humorous and you also learn a rather surprising lot of information, like Saints in Millions, famous painters and their masterpieces in Framed, space staff in Cosmic, first animal orbiting the Earth in this book. It was a great idea to make Prez see Sputnik as someone else rather than just a dog. I liked the subtle reference Michael Morpurgo's book Escape From Shangri-La, where a girl helps her granddad escape from a nursing home called Shangri-La too. If children read that book, then it is nice for them to recognise the familiar reference, if they didn't read it, it is still stands strong on its own, I think.
Frank Cottrell Boyce is brilliant at seeing the world through children's eyes, he is such an imaginative writer!!! Absolutely one of my favourite authors I have ever read.
There are so many weird and wonderful seemingly unnoticeable every day life things which make our existence on this planet enjoyable and into a life worth living! You will be surprised, if listed, what these things might be.
I recommend this book to fellow humans of all ages!
Last night my 10 year old son and I were reading the adventures of Sputnik till it was nearly midnight (well it was Friday, so no school or work the following day). My children and I love Frank Cottrell Boyce's books, they are so sooo kind and compassionate, humorous and you also learn a rather surprising lot of information, like Saints in Millions, famous painters and their masterpieces in Framed, space staff in Cosmic, first animal orbiting the Earth in this book. It was a great idea to make Prez see Sputnik as someone else rather than just a dog. I liked the subtle reference Michael Morpurgo's book Escape From Shangri-La, where a girl helps her granddad escape from a nursing home called Shangri-La too. If children read that book, then it is nice for them to recognise the familiar reference, if they didn't read it, it is still stands strong on its own, I think.
Frank Cottrell Boyce is brilliant at seeing the world through children's eyes, he is such an imaginative writer!!! Absolutely one of my favourite authors I have ever read.
There are so many weird and wonderful seemingly unnoticeable every day life things which make our existence on this planet enjoyable and into a life worth living! You will be surprised, if listed, what these things might be.
I recommend this book to fellow humans of all ages!
April 4, 2017
When Prez meets Sputnik, a small loud alien, he doesn't really know what to expect but is horrified to hear that Sputnik is here to save the earth from imminent destruction and Prez's task is to come up with a list of ten things that make our planet worth saving. You would think this would be straightforward, easy even, but Sputnik's values are a little different to ours. Poor Prez is further hindered by his own personal circumstances and the fact that everyone else thinks that Sputnik is a dog.
This is utterly bonkers but very enjoyable. Frank Cottrell Boyce makes me laugh. When I listen to him in interviews I chuckle but his children's books often have scenes which are laugh out loud funny and this has several instances of hilarity. The premise of the book is crazy but if as a reader you are happy to go along with the flow it works very well. However this is not a trivial story as it deals with weighty themes including dementia, children in care and a brief episode involving a young offenders institution. I often think that Cottrell Boyce's books can best be described as 'kind' and this one is no exception. That, in my view, is what makes it work. There are parts where the story wanders off a little but it's definitely worth sticking with to the end. The final pages were a bit blurry as I read through tears. It's a story about what matters to us: home, family and the ties that bind us together.
This is shortlisted for the Carnegie and in view of the type of book that generally wins this award I think it unlikely that this will do so. However it's great to have a book on the list that will appeal to slightly younger readers.
This is utterly bonkers but very enjoyable. Frank Cottrell Boyce makes me laugh. When I listen to him in interviews I chuckle but his children's books often have scenes which are laugh out loud funny and this has several instances of hilarity. The premise of the book is crazy but if as a reader you are happy to go along with the flow it works very well. However this is not a trivial story as it deals with weighty themes including dementia, children in care and a brief episode involving a young offenders institution. I often think that Cottrell Boyce's books can best be described as 'kind' and this one is no exception. That, in my view, is what makes it work. There are parts where the story wanders off a little but it's definitely worth sticking with to the end. The final pages were a bit blurry as I read through tears. It's a story about what matters to us: home, family and the ties that bind us together.
This is shortlisted for the Carnegie and in view of the type of book that generally wins this award I think it unlikely that this will do so. However it's great to have a book on the list that will appeal to slightly younger readers.
April 16, 2017
Quirky and delightful as only Frank Boyce books can be.
I did feel that it slowed down a bit in the middle but it definitely picked up and finished strongly. I loved ALL the characters but especially Prez and his Grandad. Sputnik's observations on life on this planet were cleverly done and I've been saying, "Have you READ the manual?" ever since ;-)
I think this would make a terrific read aloud for a classroom.
I did feel that it slowed down a bit in the middle but it definitely picked up and finished strongly. I loved ALL the characters but especially Prez and his Grandad. Sputnik's observations on life on this planet were cleverly done and I've been saying, "Have you READ the manual?" ever since ;-)
I think this would make a terrific read aloud for a classroom.
January 21, 2018
This very long story does not seem a great fit for 9-11 year old target age group. The idea of a traveling alien disguised as a dog who comes to help solve problems is unique and hilarious in theory. But, some of the very close-calls (toy light saber decapitation, casual gun play) don’t sit well when I think of sharing this with 4th graders. Profound connection developed between Prez and the grandad, but would be best for YA.
February 21, 2018
A childrens book in a chapter book... This is a great book
June 19, 2018
Funny in parts but kind of a pointless read.
September 1, 2017
A tender story for children that handles some dark themes (such as aging and loneliness) in a way that is as truthful as it is commiserative ... if that makes sense.
What I mean is that Boyce is careful and sensitive about something that is, of course, a scary eventuality for most of us - the idea of losing ourselves over time. Or perhaps worse, the idea of losing our loved ones.
The thing is, Sputnik's Guide doesn't offer a convenient ending for its audience. It's lovely and reassuring, but it's also real. Which, given the surreal nature of everything else that happens in Prez's narrative, is a gentle bit of irony in an otherwise bittersweet tale.
My son, who is six years old, experienced such a loss for the first time last fall. Knowing what we know about the inevitability of such experiences did not make it any easier for the adults in his life to help him through the pain of it. He is only just a little body, after all.
Still, he is six and he is busy. He loves handling books and he loves to be read to. And though we're not really pushing them, we have been easing into some picture-less chapter books to gauge his readiness - but with only marginal success.
This one was different. It is whimsical and silly and appealing without being excessively scatalogical in it's delivery. It is meaningful without being overly taxing. It's smart and a little odd in the way that Oliver Jeffers' picture books are smart and odd. And the ending is lovely, the whole reverse Big Bang of it all a great comfort without succumbing to habits of magical thought. The hard, real stuff is not reversed or anything. It's not erased from our fragile "remembrances." But it is tempered by a gentle inquisitiveness about the world we live in.
The kid wasn't necessarily engaging with all that stuff while we were reading - not consciously, anyway. But he adored the story. Adored it. And in light of this endorsement, MY opinion doesn't really matter.
What I mean is that Boyce is careful and sensitive about something that is, of course, a scary eventuality for most of us - the idea of losing ourselves over time. Or perhaps worse, the idea of losing our loved ones.
The thing is, Sputnik's Guide doesn't offer a convenient ending for its audience. It's lovely and reassuring, but it's also real. Which, given the surreal nature of everything else that happens in Prez's narrative, is a gentle bit of irony in an otherwise bittersweet tale.
My son, who is six years old, experienced such a loss for the first time last fall. Knowing what we know about the inevitability of such experiences did not make it any easier for the adults in his life to help him through the pain of it. He is only just a little body, after all.
Still, he is six and he is busy. He loves handling books and he loves to be read to. And though we're not really pushing them, we have been easing into some picture-less chapter books to gauge his readiness - but with only marginal success.
This one was different. It is whimsical and silly and appealing without being excessively scatalogical in it's delivery. It is meaningful without being overly taxing. It's smart and a little odd in the way that Oliver Jeffers' picture books are smart and odd. And the ending is lovely, the whole reverse Big Bang of it all a great comfort without succumbing to habits of magical thought. The hard, real stuff is not reversed or anything. It's not erased from our fragile "remembrances." But it is tempered by a gentle inquisitiveness about the world we live in.
The kid wasn't necessarily engaging with all that stuff while we were reading - not consciously, anyway. But he adored the story. Adored it. And in light of this endorsement, MY opinion doesn't really matter.
June 15, 2022
Gosh, what a great book! Both very funny and very touching. Five stars from our 9yo son and from me.
I don't want to say more, because we went in totally cold & were enthralled. Commute time, bedtime, waiting time, just plain sad time... Sputnik got us through a tough couple of months. It's been quite a while since our son asked for us to keep going on a read aloud with this kind of consistency.
There are some content notes hidden in the spoiler tag. I recommend you don't peek unless you are looking to avoid a specific tender spot.
I don't want to say more, because we went in totally cold & were enthralled. Commute time, bedtime, waiting time, just plain sad time... Sputnik got us through a tough couple of months. It's been quite a while since our son asked for us to keep going on a read aloud with this kind of consistency.
There are some content notes hidden in the spoiler tag. I recommend you don't peek unless you are looking to avoid a specific tender spot.
January 3, 2018
What if you knew someone was a short alien in a kilt, but everyone else thought he was a dog? Prez has been living with his grandfather, but when his grandfather is no longer able to take care of him, Prez is sent to the Temporary children's home. For the summer, however, he is sent to live with a family on their farm in the country. It is here that he meets Sputnik, who has come from outer space to help save Earth from imminent destruction (in a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sort of way). You see Sputnik met Laika (the Russia space dog), and has come to see what is so great about Earth. He and Prez must come up with 10 incredible things about Earth to make it worth preserving. This is not only a hilarious combination of coincidences and misinterpretations, but an examination of family, loyalty, and the meaning of home. Plus it will definitely have you reading user manuals from now on. Recommended for grades 4 & up.
June 8, 2018
I absolutely LOVED this book. The boy and his "friend", Sputnik, are two fantastic main characters. At the start, they are on a mysterious adventure that is borderline fantasy. The "dog" is hilarious with antics that make some scenes completely hilarious. In contrast, the boy is in introverted yet insightful character balancing Sputnik's antics. Towards the end, the story shifts in a delightful way as the two begin to explore deeper questions such as, "What is home? What is important in life?" Throughout the book, the boy, Prez Mellows, is on a quest to find his his grandad and the ending brings perfect closure to this facet of the plot. In my own life, I developed a unique relationship with my grandfather...and I think this influenced my perspective on the book. I connected with the ending in such a way that I will never forget this book. Sputnik's Guide will always be a top 5 book for me since it's funny and heartfelt with a truly unique plot.
April 12, 2020
Not my cup of tea. Wacky adventures are fine as long as the majority of characters acknowledge the wackiness of it. It lost a lot of its believability by the characters’ unbelievable reactions to events (Oh, the dog came home with a grocery bag full of everything on the shopping list? What a clever boy! Never mind how he read the note or paid for the groceries. Oh, our darling five-year-old is chopping down everything in sight with a lightsaber? Let’s not call the police or investigate how the lightsaber ended up in her possession. Oh, Hadrian’s Wall has been entirely rebuilt in a matter of seconds after a stick of dynamite went off? Let’s stroll on the parapet and flirt with each other).
I think Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus is a great example of preserving the realism of a story even amid fantastic events. And by preserving the realism and the believability, the characters and their emotions feel more real too.
All in all, it just wasn’t the book I expected or wanted it be.
I think Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus is a great example of preserving the realism of a story even amid fantastic events. And by preserving the realism and the believability, the characters and their emotions feel more real too.
All in all, it just wasn’t the book I expected or wanted it be.
March 24, 2017
Prez is living in a temporary home as his grandad has gone on an adventure. Over the course of the summer Prez is befriended by Sputnik, an alien determined to save Earth. To everyone else Sputnik is a dog-a very clever dog, but a dog nevertheless.
This is the kind of book that I imagine readers of primary school age would adore. It's a great adventure, with some wonderful comic scenes - the busload of break-out young offenders and the old people interacting with their TV were particularly memorable - but, at its heart, lies the touching account of Prez coming to realise his grandfather has dementia.
I picked this up as it's on the Carnegie 2017 shortlist. This surprises me-not because it's a bad book (it's entertaining and quite moving in its own way) but because it seems to be geared for a much younger readership.
This is the kind of book that I imagine readers of primary school age would adore. It's a great adventure, with some wonderful comic scenes - the busload of break-out young offenders and the old people interacting with their TV were particularly memorable - but, at its heart, lies the touching account of Prez coming to realise his grandfather has dementia.
I picked this up as it's on the Carnegie 2017 shortlist. This surprises me-not because it's a bad book (it's entertaining and quite moving in its own way) but because it seems to be geared for a much younger readership.
November 14, 2017
Frank Cottrell Boyce is a really, really funny writer. He also uses that humor to his advantage to incorporate pathos into his stories in a way that never seems forced or cheesy. Sputnik's Guide is zany and funny and fast-moving...and caught me completely off guard (in a good way). I sobbed for about 10 solid minutes after reading the ending. Which was a happy ending. Which was a fairly non-dramatic and normal and even funny ending. The layers of meaning and emotion that the author had been weaving throughout the book just suddenly became clear and smacked me right in the heartstrings.
I'm glad I bought this one to have on my shelves, as I'll want to study it as well as share it with my children!
I'm glad I bought this one to have on my shelves, as I'll want to study it as well as share it with my children!
February 6, 2019
I thought this book was hilarious. It's certainly offbeat and so not for every kid, but Frank Cottrell Boyce writes sweet, fast-paced, semi- science-fiction type books that are fun to read. Sputnik is actually an alien who is working on coming up with ten reasons that the planet Earth should not be destroyed to make room for more stars. Architecture doesn't count, but a harmonica might.
To almost everyone but Prez, our main character, Sputnik looks like a dog. A dog who wears a kilt and goggles, but nevertheless, a dog. Because, after all, on Earth, dogs are the dominant species. Prez and Sputnik find themselves on a farm in England for the summer, and a certain amount of chaos ensues.
Made me laugh out loud~
To almost everyone but Prez, our main character, Sputnik looks like a dog. A dog who wears a kilt and goggles, but nevertheless, a dog. Because, after all, on Earth, dogs are the dominant species. Prez and Sputnik find themselves on a farm in England for the summer, and a certain amount of chaos ensues.
Made me laugh out loud~
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