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Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth
- Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Action & Adventure
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Summary
The Blythes are a big, warm, rambunctious family who live on a small farm and sometimes foster children. Now Prez has come to live with them. But, though he seems cheerful and helpful, he never says a word.
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What listeners say about Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-03-18
One of the best stories I have ever heard
We listed to this as a family, with son (11) and daughter (9). It’s both laugh-out-loud funny and really thoughtful. An incredibly well-written story and Peter Capaldi’s telling adds so much. Would recommend to anyone!
4 people found this helpful
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- Lead Reviewer
- 01-12-17
Funny
Soooooo funny omg so so so funny I like frank corrall Boyce he is funny
2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- E. Parke
- 20-10-17
Great
We've come to love all Frank Cottrell Boyce's books and Sputnik is no exception. The imagination that goes into them and the bending of reality is superb. We read it first at bedtime and I really couldn't do justice to the accents required so I was really glad to see a real Scot narrating it. It's possible that Robbie Coltrane could have done a better job but both are way ahead of me.
The book could be described as one boy's experience of his primary carer falling victim to the onset of dementia and the very real consequences that has for him but if you then go on to say that the arrival of an alien on a mission to save our planet is thrown in it can only make your mind boggle.
It's fabulous. We thoroughly recommend it.
2 people found this helpful
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- Deborah de Flammineis
- 26-04-22
Amazing story, Amazing Capaldi
marvelous and Peter Capaldi Is Simply perfect. I liked it very much. clear reading even for me who am not native English speaker. Perer Capaldi gives voice to all the characters with skill and professionalism. the story is great.
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- Whiteowl
- 01-07-21
extremely entertaining
I will be honest I brought this purely because Peter Capaldi was reading it and as expected, he gave another fantastic and highly entertaining performance.. The story itself turned out to be a fun and entertaining adventure while still tackling difficult subjects like dementia and foster care with a great deal of sensitivity. Highly recommend.
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- Thomas Wright
- 21-04-21
fun and educational
this is the 1st of his books that educate the reader about dementia without relating back to something else
without actually mentioning the condition but having a family member myself with the condition I can tell its what its educating about
with a space travelling dog thats not a dog for good measure
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- Iguanadon
- 12-09-17
Rollicking ride with a surprisingly touching heart
I have to confess, when I originally chose this recording it was because it was read by Peter Capaldi, not for the story or author, and I was not disappointed...his animated reading was as delightful as ever, and the extra Scottish twinkle he brought to the story was no doubt the reason he was chosen for this book. What I did not expect , however, was what I thought was a kids book essentially when I started this was in fact, a phenomenally creative and surprisingly touching story to be enjoyed by grandkid and grandparent alike. Now I'm after more by this author and please please Mr Capaldi, I beg of you to please give us the pleasur of your voice and talent to more audio books!
5 people found this helpful
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- Michelle C. Flowers
- 12-04-20
Hands down the best book I've listened to
This was an amazing story: fun, heartwarming, interesting characters. It was so enjoyable I'm going to hunt down the other books by this author. The narration was absolutely brilliant! I usually don't care for audio books over printed options but Mr. Capaldi does such a wonderful job I can't imagine not listening to it. I loved the voices and felt like he was telling *me* a story rather than reading one that I could listen in on. I will be listening to this over and over again. 11/10 Cannot recommend highly enough.
1 person found this helpful
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- k
- 24-09-18
A Fantastic Adventure Narrated with Panache!
I found myself laughing out loud at times, and actually shedding tears at other times because of this heartwarming story that was read with such amazing panache by the wonderful Peter Capaldi. He's made it even more entertaining, and his Scottish accent adds authenticity and flavor to the narration. It's a pleasure listening to him use different voices and bring life to the book's sympathetic characters.
The story is heartwarming but never sappy, cheeky but never rude. Your heart will go out to Prez, and sometimes, you can even imagine the irrepressible Sputnik as a Doctor Who-like character who wreaks mayhem wherever he goes but still manages to save the day.
The book was written for kids and tweens but it strikes a chord even with adults.
1 person found this helpful
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- JJO
- 30-06-22
Laughed so much I woke up my husband!
Peter Capaldi narrates. Enough said. Automatic 5 stars for narration. But Peter narrates this one with the most wonderful Scottish accent ~ purely lovely and it adds more to the humor of the words, especially for Sputnik. But don’t try listening to this in bed with earbuds unless you’re sleeping alone. Full disclosure... I decided to submit a review before I even finished chapter one because the story is so funny I couldn’t contain my laughter. Ended up waking my husband because the laughs were escaping as snorts. The hazards of listening to a brilliantly written hilarious story after everyone else has gone to bed. Many thanks to the author and narrator for a fantastic Audible experience!!
P. S. Heaven help me! Chapter 3 is so funny I had to come to the living room to be able to laugh out loud. My eardrums were about to explode from trying to keep my laughs inside to not waken him again. What a fabulously entertaining book!
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- Impressed
- 22-09-19
Ok but not Boyce's best on audio
the Narrator has a good range of voices, but he didn't seem the best fit for this story.
if you like Boyce try Framed or Cosmic
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- chaoticmuse
- 07-08-18
Chaotic Story with Sympathetic Characters
Frank Cottrell Boyce's "Cosmic" was a favorite so I was excited to see another of his books hit our state award nominee list. There is a lot... seriously A LOT of activity in this story. And Peter Capaldi kept the intensity high with his narration style (great accent not too hard for kids to understand). But I have to admit that around hour 3 I was tired of the mayhem and ready for it to end happily if possible. I was afraid at first that it was going to have a "too easy" ending with everyone living happily ever after but I shouldn't have been so worried. It was a realistic ending (as realistic as a shape shifting alien story line can be) but satisfying. And then I went and took a nap to recover. If you've never read Cottrell Boyce before start with "Cosmic" and maybe rest up before jumping in to Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth.
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- Amanda Zimmerman
- 18-12-17
The story is good and the narrator is also good
The book is good and the narrator is really good as well I give it 9/10👍