Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth audiobook

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.

Delightful.

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.

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.

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. "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.

I loved reading the adventures that Prez and Sputnick went on! I want to keep Sputnick!!

Funny and heartfelt - a lovely read.

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.

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.

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