Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
It turns out to be a fateful decision. At the door is Sputnik Mellows. Because they share a last name, Prez first assumes that Sputnik is a long-lost relative, come to take him out of foster care for at least as long as it takes his grandfather to be “sorted out” wherever it is police have taken him. 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.) You can find out a bit more about him and his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang triology at uk.chittyfliesagain.com 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.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an accomplished, successful and award-winning author and screenwriter. 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 and Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2004. 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. 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.
Frank is also a successful writer of film scripts and was the official scriptwriter for the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics, playing an important role devising the ceremony with Danny Boyle. He is also a judge for the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition. You can read a great interview with Frank and one of his fellow judge, Francesca Simon here! 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.
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl. This is an out-of-this world adventure that is also a heartening story about the importance of friendship and family. ( The Week Junior) a spiky, effervescent treat, like Spielberg's ET put in a blender with a bottle of Irn-Bru. - The Financial Times 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. As Prez dithers on the doorstep, Sputnik strolls right past him and introduces himself to everyone in the household. Prez is amazed at the response. The family pat Sputnik on the head, call him a good boy and drop food into his mouth. It seems they all think Sputnik is a dog. It's only Prez who thinks otherwise.
Follow us
He has also created a fantastic trilogy, writtenwith his trademark wit, warmth and sense of story, based upon Ian Fleming's novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, comprising Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon. 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.
Gosh, what a great book! Both very funny and very touching. Five stars from our 9yo son and from me. 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). The Blythes are 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. 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!
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
Sputnik is an imaginary friend there to help our main character Prez explore the complex universe of mankind. 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. 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 . . . 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. 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 . . .
a spiky, effervescent treat, like Spielberg's ET put in a blender with a bottle of Irn-Bru. ( The Financial Times)
Books & Authors
Planet Earth is due to be destroyed by ‘Planetary Clearance’, and it is up to Sputnik, with Prez’ help, to prove Earth is worth saving (at first, he finds it a ‘very disappointing planet’!).
Great Deal 
New Comment