Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth

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 [...]

Delightful.

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 gr [...]

I am part of the Carnegie AwardShadowingTeam 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 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 [...]

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, [...]

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 c [...]

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 ca [...]

Surreal, yet heartwarming and lots of fun This was my son s bedtime story and we both enjoyed it immensely.

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.

Funny and heartfelt a lovely read.

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 [...]

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 Th [...]

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.

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 [...]

E ARC from Edelweiss Above the TreelinePrez is being raised by his grandfather, a former sailor, but when his grandfather s dementia worsens, he is sent to Children s Temporary and then out to a family on a farm for a summer placement Once there, an odd boy shows up at the door and declares that his name is Sputnik and he s there because the Earth is in danger and he s going to save Prez However, everyone else sees Sputnik as a dog The two get involved in a number of adventures, including going [...]

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 [...]

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 b [...]

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 movingd 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 throughou [...]

This book is bonkers But what do you expect when a kilt wearing alien rings the doorbell of a house that doesn t even have a doorbell he keeps one in his backpack just in case and tells you that the world is in danger To top it off everyone else thinks he is a dog This book is a lot of fun and made me laugh out loud several times What does every alien say when they come to earth You got it Take me to your larder Ultimately this book is about finding home when you live in care because your only f [...]

Parts are a 3, some is a 4 Would go for 3.5 stars overall for the audience that I read for Clever funny Some aspects of it taking place in Great Britain make it less accessible perhaps.

I feel like this would make a better oddball indie film than a children s book that being said, I would absolutely watch that movie, and I sort of enjoyed this oddball book.

Highly recommend

That was pretty cute.

Loved the humor and the other emotions in this story Thought it was a really uniques story I considering this as a read aloud this year.

A childrens book in a chapter book This is a great book

Beautiful, hilarious and heart warming It was everything a children s book should be OK, I admit this wasn t at the top of my to read pile when the shortlist for the Carnegie shortlist was revealed I was far excited by the YA selections When our school book club passed me this one next it sat on my desk for a few days but once I started it was beautiful I expected a nice story for younger childen what I found was a funny book that danced with everyday magic, vibrant characters and a brilliant p [...]

Sputnik s Guide had some of the funniest scenes I ve read recently Prez is separated from his grandfather and living with a foster family for the summer He has also become a selective mute Sputnik shows up one day ringing a doorbell he carries with him , and, though Prez sees a quirky boy, everyone else sees a dog of various breeds Sputnik is here to learn about Earth, and what he discovers and how he learns and experiments and solves problems make for some hilarious if improbable situations Rem [...]

Sputnik s Guide to Life on Earth is the book on the Carnegie list which kids masses of kids will love Cottrell Boyce, like Walliams or Jacquline Wilson, is a brand Like Walliams and Wilson, Cotttrell Boyce writes well, and writes for his audience While Sputnik deals with some deep issues, it has a lightness of touch which is absent across the shortlist Only Reeve comes close.Prez s emotions come through before we are told of his circumstances He refers to members of the Blythe family in a detach [...]

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.

Not SappyThis book is like an anthology of every potentially sappy middle grade theme problem issue possible, each and every one of which is made funny, touching, heartwarming and downright joyous by the unique Boyce touch I admire all of Boyce s books, although the often overlooked Framed is my favorite , but this may be the one that s most accessible to and most rewarding for young readers.Here are some of the themes, for starters, before I emphasize the deeply funny stuff Our hero Prez has be [...]