Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Shortlisted for the 2017 Carnegie Medal and selected for the Tom Fletcher Book Club, Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell-Boyce 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.

Books like Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth

Your next favorite book is out there