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Laika The Astronaut (2013)

by Owen Davey(Favorite Author)

2.91 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1848778783 (ISBN13: 9781848778788)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Templar

review 1: Laika was a stray dog wandering the streets of MoscowShe was lonely and she wished for a family to love her.Someone took her in, but not for the purpose Laika wished for.Some Astronauts had a very special job for her.Laika trained hard until it was time for her mission.She blasted off into space with the world watching.She zoomed around the Earth, until something went wrong.The world thought Laika was lost.She was one brave dog, that paved the way for space travel.As no one knows what happened to the little dog in the space ship, the author has chosen his own adventurous and happy ending, he he, but I am not going to tell you what it is. You will have to read it. The first thing you notice about this book is the fantastic and unique illustrations. Mostly done in shades of... more gold, greens and red, which gives it a distinct and eye pleasing journey back to that era. We have read another one of Own Davey's books, and we very much enjoyed the tale, as well as the delightful illustrations. I think we are fast becoming fans.You can't help but fall in love with little Laika. We spied this one in the library, and as I am naturally drawn to all things space, and so is my little G, we agree that we must have this one in our home collection.The end pages have a note about the origin of the story.On November 3 1957 we learn that Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth in the Sputnik 2.Just a few hours later all communication was lost. I did not realise that it was actually really a non fiction story, with a fictional ending until I read the authors notes, but I was not disappointed. I choose to believe that Laika is forever the adventurer that Owen Davey paints.
review 2: Owen Davey's, simple and beautiful, poignant book distills the essence of the symbol that Laika was, and has become. a story told through symbols and simple sentences allows a great swath of readers to enter and understand who Laika. The story may be simple and brief, cultural depth and ethical useof animals in experiments may be excluded. and yet, as an entry point to space and exploration, the character of Laika is a hero with whom children can begin to explore the history and depth of what is one of humanity's largest preoccupations in the last century.as teaching material, the deep, rich art more than makes up for the simple written story. in fact for young children, and those with SEN&D it allows for far more engagement with the story as a resource to discuss and think about the layers of what is happening in the book. More writing would only make this interaction more linear, and possibly put since children off.the simplicity of execution asked this book to be accessed by most readers, opening the world of space to them, which is a wonderful thing. less

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