Cosmic

Product Information

When we got the manoeuvre just slightly wrong – just slightly enough to make us completely doomed – they all screamed for about an hour and then they dozed off. I can't sleep. I can't get comfortable in sleeping bags because they're always too small for me. Plus I think if I stay awake I might have an idea. And save us all. That's why I'm recording this on my Draxphone. If I do get home, I'm going to give it to you and then you'll understand how I ended up in deep space when I said I was going pond dipping in the Lake District. I looked down at the pedals. I knew one of them was the accelerator. I just wasn't sure which one. One lesson the World of Warcraft teaches you is that if you want to succeed on the next level, you need to acquire new skills. Don't level up until you've skilled up. Sadly this was a lesson I'd forgotten. I was pretty sure though that the accelerator was the one in the middle. I had my foot on it when the door on the passenger side opened and a very familiar voice said, 'You. Out. Now. Come on.'" 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.

This book follows the story of a 12-year-old boy, Liam, who is often mistaken for an adult due to his height and facial hair. In the beginning, there is some explanation of the adventures this has led to (and the often disastrous outcomes), as he dwells on the time he had taken a Porsche on a test drive with his ‘daughter’ Florida (who is actually a friend from school). The majority of the book, however, is dedicated to their time in space, orbiting the moon in a shuttle that closely resembles an ice-cream bus. There are a number of elements that Frank Cottrell Boyce deftly combines to make COSMIC one of the funniest books I've read this year:

To come so close and not realise his dream! He manages to convince Dr Drax that the children should have an adult present, but Dr Drax decides to let the children vote on which Dad they want with them by voting on them after a series of challenges. Problem is, why would the kids want a computer-game obsessed "dad" with them when they know he'll hog the controls?

Oh yes. Liam's voice is wonderfully wry and hilarious, and he also coined a word that's going into my vocabulary: dadliness. The quality or attributes of being a dad. What does a dad do? He gets you out of a tight spot, and then glares at you disapprovingly until you learn your lesson. He calls you "princess" and remembers your birthday. He pushes you to succeed. He'll do anything to save you. Liam is only twelve, but his growth spurt hit early. Now taller than most adults and sporting a new batch of stubble, he's mistaken for the new teacher on his first day of grade 7 at a new school. That lasted only so long as it took him to try to incite a walk-out, but it's only the first time he's mistaken as an adult. Since he looks about thirty, Liam and his classmate Florida have great fun doing things that kids can only do with adult supervision - until his dad, a taxi driver, catches him about to test drive a Porsche.The only bad thing about the view is that it doesn't include Earth. We haven't seen it since we rolled out of orbit. I said to the others, "Well, it must be somewhere. We're probably just facing the wrong way. We'll find it. Definitely." But that didn't seem to calm them down. One of them – Samson Two – drew me a diagram to prove that even if we were facing the wrong way we should still be able to see it. I said, "So what are you saying? That we've fallen into some magic wormhole and come out on the other side of the universe?" This edition of Cosmic includes bonus material and discussion questions from Frank Cottrell Boyce and features fantastic new cover artwork from Steven Lenton. About This Edition ISBN: Astronaut Adventures: Imagine being an astronaut and learn about the challenges they face in space. Understand what it takes to live and work in a weightless environment and how they prepare for their extraordinary missions. You can find out a bit more about him and his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang triology at uk.chittyfliesagain.com An incredible hook to an incredible story! Not just about space but about friendships, families, relationships and lies.