Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth

April 24, 2017
Prez Mellows lives with his increasingly forgetful grandfather until an incident that results in Granddad being sent away to be “sorted out.” Prez, electively mute, is taken in by the Blythes, a raucous farm family on Scotland’s southern border. Though the premise sounds grim, Boyce’s (The Astounding Broccoli Boy) story is anything but, and it’s kick-started by the arrival of Sputnik, a being visible to Prez as a “wee alien in a kilt and goggles,” and to everyone else as an adorable and exceedingly clever dog. Sputnik’s mission is to save Earth from impending doom by finding 10 worthy things about the planet to update a guidebook, originally written by Laika, the Russian space dog. His advanced knowledge of scientific principles combines with a penchant for mischief to produce an avalanche of kooky mayhem (working lightsabers are involved). It’s a funny and touching story about a boy who, through a transformative summer, learns to expand his definitions of family and home. “Home’s not a building,” as Sputnik tells Prez. “Home is other people, isn’t it?” Ages 8–12.

Starred review from April 1, 2017
A foster boy learns that home is always closer than he thinks.Ever since his increasingly senile granddad was taken away to "get sorted out," Prez Mellows has been living in Children's Temporary Accommodation. This summer, however, he's staying with the loving and rambunctious Blythe family on their farm. The structure and daily chores give Prez's life a sense of normalcy, but the arrival of a cigar-smoking, gravity-surfing extraterrestrial named Sputnik destabilizes Prez's new routine. According to Sputnik, everyone in the universe has a mission, and Sputnik's is to save Prez by saving Earth from Planetary Clearance. To do this, they must find 10 things that make Earth worth saving. Part of the book's hilarity lies in the fact that Sputnik appears as a dog to everyone except Prez, who sees a funny-looking kid in a kilt and aviator goggles. Fortunately, Sputnik can read Prez's mind, thus saving the boy from looking like he's holding lengthy conversations with a dog. From a destructive lightsaber incident at a 5-year-old's birthday party through a speed-of-light joy ride on a digger to Hadrian's Wall to a major jailbreak fail, belly laughs are central to the action. The overall themes of home, family, and one's place in the universe are reflected in moments of quiet sweetness. The narrative assumes a white default. A raucous adventure with a heart of gold. (Fantasy. 8-13)

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Starred review from April 1, 2017
Gr 4-7-Pre-z Mellows is a list expert. He's been making lists for years on sticky notes to help his granddad remember important life facts, such as -Prez is your grandson- and -Do not go out without trousers.- His lists help save the planet when a space-traveling alien, Sputnik, shows up on Earth and enlists Prez's help to come up with 10 reasons Earth should be spared; otherwise, it will be shrunk to oblivion. To Prez, Sputnik looks like a boy wearing a kilt, a leather helmet, and flying goggles, but to everyone else, he looks like a dog. Selectively mute, Prez is trying to come to grips with being in a -temporary- foster home with a raucous family, while mistakenly thinking his granddad was taken away to prison rather than a nursing home. Cottrell Boyce (Millions; The Astounding Broccoli Boy) invites readers to suspend belief while going on a physics-defying, mind-bending adventure that's sure to appeal to a wide audience. When a motorized scooter becomes a getaway vehicle, Prez and Sputnik try to help Granddad retrieve lost memories, establish reasons why Earth should be saved, and, along the way, discover where they really belong and what is most important. VERDICT Begging to be read aloud and full of escapades, humor, and spunk, this is a stand-alone gem. For all middle grade shelves.-Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2017
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* Prez keeps his bag packed, positive that his grandfather will pick him up from the Children's Temporary Accommodation at any moment. But until Granddad gets out of jail, Prez will be spending the summer at the Blythe family's farm. He has barely arrived when a peculiar individual sporting a kilt and flight goggles appears at the door: Sputnik Mellows. He, too, is welcomed by the Blythes, who are somehow under the impression that he is a doghandshakes all around! Still more curious, Sputnik can read Prez's thoughts, a useful skill when dealing with a voluntary mute like Prez. How is all this possible? Sputnik is an alien, and quite a charming one at that, and he needs Prez's help saving Earth from destruction. If, by the end of summer, the pair of them can come up with 10 things worth seeingfor an interplanetary guidebookthe planet will be saved. Boyce's (Cosmic, 2008) newest is by turns hilarious and earnest. Sputnik's zany energy and role as clueless tourist produce laugh-out-loud scenarios and turn everyday objects into things of wonderyou'll never look at a remote control the same way again. On the flip side, he helps Prez find his voice and come to terms with hard truths about his grandfather. A stellar exploration of the meaning of home and the earthly wonders all around us.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)