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Frank Cottrell Boyce is the author of two other books for children: Framed and Millions, which was made into a movie by Oscar winning director Danny Boyle. Frank lives in England with his family.
About the book:
Liam has always felt a bit like he’s stuck between two worlds. This is primarily due to the fact that he’s a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he’s about thirty. Sometimes it’s not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school, or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it’s just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world.
And so he decides to flip things around.
Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It’s not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again – only this time he’s 239,000 miles from home.
What's a big lad of 12 to do if everyone assumes he's grown up just because he's tall?
Well, play along. Why not? Especially if it allows him to do things he couldn't do otherwise, like ride the Cosmic catapult at the amusement park and be invited to test drive a Porsche off the showroom floor.
But now Liam's gone too far and conned his way onto a spaceship that's rolled out of orbit, and Mom and Dad have no idea where he is.
Hilariously fun and clever, this crazy fun story imagines a resourceful kid finagling his way out of an impossible situation as only a kid can do.
If you love this, check out Boyce's Carnegie Medal-winning hit Millions and equally enjoyable Framed.
Wishing for Tomorrow: The Sequel to A Little Princess
by Hillary McKay
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010
$16.99, ages 8-12, 288 page
In this lovely sequel to the 100-year-old Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic A Little Princess, Bauer returns to Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies to see how Ermengarde, Lottie and Lavinia have faired since Sara Crewe, the little princess, and her scullery maid Becky left with a mysterious benefactor.
A new maid, Alice, has arrived at the school, bringing a breath of fresh air and practicality, as Emengarde eases her sadness at the loss of Sara and, at Sara's urging, agrees to watch over precocious Lottie, and an intriguing new boy moves in next door, stirring Lavinia's hunger for higher learning.
0 Comments on Books With Characters You Feel You Know (Or Wish You Did!) as of 6/5/2010 10:56:00 AM
This is my first post at SFG. My name is Zan and I'm an Illustrator from Australia.
Happy to be a part of this group of illustrious illustrators and artists, hats off to Jeff!
I work mainly in oils, sometimes with acrylics, occasionally with digital, rarely with macaroni and never with excrement...click here to see more stuff.
Frank Cottrell Boyce has done the impossible: He's made me read a book that involves space travel.* Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm one of those readers who will not read books that involve spacesuits, space vehicles of any kind, and weightlessness--fiction or non fiction. All those details about Mach this and Light Year that make me, well, space out.
The hero of Cosmic--Boyce's third novel for young adult readers--is much taller than his eleven-year-old peers. In fact, Liam is mistaken for an adult because of his height and facial hair. When he hangs out with his friend from theater group, a celebrity-obsessed girl named Florida, they pass as a father and child. They can enter shops off-limit to kids without accompanying parents! When Liam is mistaken for his father because of some cellphone shenanigans and wins a once-in-a-lifetime trip on a top-secret space rocket housed in China, he convinces Florida to accompany him as his child.+
When Florida and Liam arrive to China, they find they are one of four father-child teams. Liam takes to his role as "Dad" with great success, especially when matched against the other competitive father-son teams. One Dad and his kid are all about making money, another pair is all about success (Dad writes self-help books about overcoming fear and being successful), and the third pair is comprised of father-son math geniuses. Compared to his competition, Liam is an ordinary Dad--nothing special, really--but his eleven-year-old sense of fun and his true compassion for all the kids, not just Florida, sets him above his middle-aged pack.
While Cosmic does involve a trip around and to the moon, in the end it's about being a kid who has to grow up too fast. Liam is forced into adulthood because of his size, but his space-traveling peers have grown up too quickly because of their success-oriented parents. A good Dad, like Liam's own--who is home in Liverpool thinking his son is on a trip to the Lake District--and what Liam himself becomes on the space trip, allows his kids to grow up at their own pace and to have a little fun along the way.
I listened to Cosmic via an audible download because I could not wait for its July 30th release in the States. While the audiobook is fantastic, I wish I had the paper copy to quote from: There are so many funny and bittersweet lines on growing up and on being a dad in Cosmic. Still, narrator Daniel Ryan does a bang-up job bringing Liam and Cosmic to life. If you have a long roadtrip ahead of you, this audiobook is highly recommended for all children (and their parents) ages eight and up. As Liam would say--this book is cosmic! ----------------------- * Other than Frank Cottrell Boyce, only Ian McEwan, Kate Atkinson, and Philip Pullman could get me to read a book about space. ----------------------- + I'm sure there is a better description than "cellphone shenanigans," but, again, as much as I love technology, I sure hate to read about it. ---------------------- Monica Edinger posted her review of Cosmic today too! You can find it here at educating alice.
9 Comments on Book Review: Cosmic, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, last added: 6/25/2008
How funny that we posted our reviews on the same day. I don't do many reviews; just books I fall in love with like this one! I too am dying to get my hands on the book itself. Can you figure out the publisher? On amazon it said Macmillan, but that is just an umbrella for a bunch of publishers, isn't it? In the US, that is.
So now I need another great book to listen to -- any suggestions?
Yours came through my reader when I was writing mine! I finished the book last week, but was working on the Forest, so didn't have time to write the review.
Macmillan is a big umbrella, so I don't know who will publish this in the U.S. Sigh.
I loved Tana French's "In the Woods" for audio. It's adult mystery, but made for a great audiobook.
They have LOTS of challenges, Doret. They have to find a flag in the desert, practice being weightless, then they have all sorts of challenges in space. (Terrifying things happen in space!!)
Even though, personally, I can't get enough space (i.e. outer space, not just leg room) I know what you mean about books about space. Perhaps your aversion merely reflects how many 'space books' are devoid of real character, emotion or story. I'm sure any writer, really, could get you to read a book set in space, provided they made sure they told a proper story.
After all, not many people know this but all of Leo Tolstoy's books are set in space. As are those of Jane Austen, Kate Atkinson, and many others. Being all set on planet Earth of course... :-)
But seriously for a mo... Perhaps try reading the (non-fictional) 'Moondust' by Andrew Smith. The human story of the moon landings. Cuts through all the gobblegook and touches a real nerve of humanity... I think, anyway!
The last kid books I read about space, other than 'A Wrinkle in Time' were the Space Cat books, about an astronaut who ends up going to space with his cat. The cat has his own little spacesuit and everything... (yeah, I know).
I don't really do books about space either, but this one sounds bizarre, but enticing! I'll keep my eye out for it.
Breaking news: The sun is out. It's been 40 days and 40 nights since I've seen it, so I'm going to post a few items of interest and then head out to boost my serotonin levels.
First things first: Frank Cottrell Boyce's Cosmic won't be out in the U.S. until July 30, but for some inexplicable reason it is available now on audible.com. If you listen to audio at all, I highly recommend this one. The narrator is amazing and Boyce does not disappoint. I'm not going to give away any secrets before my review, but let's just say there's a reason Amanda Craig calls it Boyce's "best yet."
Weekend Reviews? You'd think it was the weekend or something: Review columns and profiles are popping up early this week. Is Father's Day to blame? Here are a few links of interest:
Anthropomorphic Literature at the Guardian Book Blog. I've always felt there's a fine line with anthropomorphic literature. As a child, I felt clothes constituted that line. Watership Down was okay, because the rabbits did not wear clothes. Stuart Little was not okay because they did. Simplistic, I know. But I was quite firm on the matter at the time.
Off-Topic: Mondrian has been on my mind this week ever since I read a post on his newfound popularity (again) in fashion at fashionista.
Mondrian's paintings have always appealed to me. I love symmetry and order, perhaps because I find instituting order in my life elusive. When I was a teen I bought a great Mondrian tote in London and carried it with me everywhere. I also had Mondrian posters and, I think, shoes. (Or was it a T-shirt?) Well, Mondrian prints are back, Natalie Hormilla writes at Fashionista. She begins her post with the following statement: "For reasons unknown, the Mondrian-inspired clothes just keep rolling in." I'd argue that the reasons are quite knowable. Namely, Mondrian inspires when times are uncertain. When times are stormy, and violent, and potentially life-threatening, Mondrian's clean lines and primary colors suggest order can be achieved.
ETA: Anyone's sitemeter stop, um, metering in the past 24 hours?
6 Comments on You'd think it's a weekend and other items of interest, last added: 6/12/2008
Speaking of Stuart Little, I just finished reading that to my girls. I really couldn't stand that book. Didn't it win the Newbery, but folks were all down on Charlotte's Web? I just don't get it.
Howdey there Daddios and Darlins. Heres my latest piece. I sketched this one a while ago and finaly got around to adding some colors lol. Im very impressed with the out come of this one, I hope you enjoy it
0 Comments on Rock'n like theres no tomorrow... as of 1/6/2008 10:11:00 PM
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
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Wishing for Tomorrow: The Sequel to A Little Princess
Welcome! You have beautiful work!!
what a lovely - and funny - painting! great work!
thanks guys :)