Cosmic

Cosmic

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Recommended age: as from 9 years old

This is a book we highly recommend. Funny, surprising, amusing, beautifully written and very moving. It is the perfect book to read with your Dad...(ask him, he´ll thank me afterwards!)

I must say the more I read it the more I liked it. To tell the truth, the story and the main character are so different from anything we had ever read, that it took me a few chapters to really understand Liam and to fully enjoy this peculiar adventure.

Jaime L.C. (11 years old): "Liam is a twelve year old boy, too tall for his age, who wins a contest. He takes his friend Florida, faking to be his father, to enjoy the prize (the greatest ride on Earth). But what he doesn´t know is that soon he will be on a ride that will fly him to space, as the ride is a rocket! Due to an unfortunate accident he is stuck in the rocket with the other winners, lost in space."

Trust us, once you get to know this gifted and talented boy, whom everyone takes for an adult (as he is very tall and even has facial hair), he will take you on the most unforgettable voyage, a "children only" adventure to the Moon.

You will also meet the rest of the crew: Florida, a girl full of surprises, Hasan, Samson Two and Max. And with them you´ll realize that going to the Moon is Cosmic, but enjoying your childhood is even more. So do as Liam says and Make the World your Thrill Ride! 

Daniel L.C. (11 years old): "This book really makes you wonder about the secrets of our planet (and for you aliens reading this blog, this might include your world too) and how dangerous it can be in space. I learned that being an astronaut can be more dangerous than being in the army, but if you still want to go to space, I can assure you that you will have an image to think of for the rest of your life." 

Click here to see some stunning images of Earth, taken by the crew of the the International Space Station.

(Mr Bean, the astronaut): "Up there is some kind of lovely. And maybe you need to have something in your heart, you know, something even more lovely. To help you find your way home. Otherwise maybe you could be beguiled."

Pablo L.C. (11 years old): "This book is witty, funny and packed with interesting facts. So join Liam Digby as he tells the biggest fib ever and accidentally gets lost in space. And a message to all Dads: never, ever, ever let your child even 2 meters out of the house or next thing you know they´d have won a scholarship to Hogwarts and discovered Middle Earth :)"

In this book scientific facts go hand in hand with the craziest situations imaginable and also with a very poetic view of our lives.

"It´s Dad. He´s walking towards me like there´s some special gravity pulling him towards me. And maybe there is. Maybe everyone´s got their own special gravity that lets you go far away, really far away sometimes, but which always brings you back in the end."

As I read it, I couldn´t help thinking of another of our favorite books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because of the children selected to live a unique experience, and of the James Bond movie Moonraker,  there is even a Dr Drax in both!

Did you know...?

It was Isaac Newton, the English scientist, who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation. The story says he was lying under a tree when an apple fell on this head, which made him ask himself a very simple question, why did it fall downwards? 

Astronauts need to prepare themselves to take some "extra gravity force" when re-entering the Earth´s atmosphere, they do so with a machine called a Centrifuge, in our book it is called Vortex, as it makes people vomit. Click here to see a video of a real astronaut, Chris Hadfield, explain how it works.






For another version of this machine at full power, click here. Of course it is only James, James Bond, who can take more than 15g without undoing his hair. Watch the film if you have a chance, the cero-gravity fight and the laser battle are priceless!!