Drop Shadow

Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth

By Frank Cottrell Boyce

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Prez knows that the best way to keep track of things is to make a list. That’s important when you have a grandfather who is constantly forgetting things. And it’s especially important when your grandfather can’t care for you anymore and you have to go live with a foster family out in the country.

Prez is still learning to fit in at his new home when he answers the door to meet Sputnik—a kid who is more than a little strange. First, he can hear what Prez is thinking. Second, he looks like a dog to everyone except Prez. Third, he can manipulate the laws of space and time. Sputnik, it turns out, is an alien, and he’s got a mission that requires Prez’s help: The Earth has been marked for destruction, and the only way they can stop it is to compile a list of ten reasons why the Earth should be saved. Thus begins one of the most fun and eventful summers of Prez’s life, as he and Sputnik set out on a journey to compile the most important list he has ever made—and discover just what makes our world so remarkable.

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Frank Cottrell Boyce is the author of Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth, The Astounding Broccoli Boy, Cosmic, Framed, and Millions, the last of which was a New York Times bestseller and was made into a movie by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. His books have won or been nominated for numerous awards, including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award. Frank is also a screenwriter, having penned the scripts for a number of feature films as well as the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. He lives in Liverpool with his family.

“Cottrell Boyce invites readers to suspend belief while going on a physics-defying, mind-bending adventure that’s sure to appeal to a wide audience. Begging to be read aloud and full of escapades, humor, and spunk, this is a stand-alone gem.”

- School Library Journal

“A raucous adventure with a heart of gold.”

- Kirkus Reviews

“A funny and touching story about a boy who, through a transformative summer, learns to expand his definitions of family and home.”

- Publishers Weekly

Published by Walden Pond Press an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

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