Bound To Stay Bound

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 Sputnik's guide to life on Earth
 Author: Cottrell Boyce, Frank

 Publisher:  Walden Pond Press (2017)

 Classification: Fiction
 Physical Description: 321 p.,  21 cm

 BTSB No: 244776 ISBN: 9780062643629
 Ages: 8-12 Grades: 3-7

 Subjects:
 Science fiction
 Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction
 Humorous fiction

Price: $21.88

Summary:
Prez answers the door to meet Sputnik. Sputnik appears like a dog to everyone but Prez. It turns out Sputnik is an alien, and he's got a message for Prez: unless the two of them can come up with ten reasons why the Earth is a special place, it's going to be unceremoniously destroyed.

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Accelerated Reader Information:
   Interest Level: MG
   Reading Level: 4.00
   Points: 8.0   Quiz: 189557
Reading Counts Information:
   Interest Level: 3-5
   Reading Level: 3.10
   Points: 14.0   Quiz: 71232

Reviews:
   Kirkus Reviews (+) (04/01/17)
   School Library Journal (+) (04/01/17)
   Booklist (+) (04/15/17)
 The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/05/17)
 The Hornbook (00/07/17)

Full Text Reviews:

School Library Journal - 04/01/2017 Gr 4–7—Prez Mellows is a list expert. He's been making lists for years on sticky notes to help his granddad remember important life facts, such as "Prez is your grandson" and "Do not go out without trousers." His lists help save the planet when a space-traveling alien, Sputnik, shows up on Earth and enlists Prez's help to come up with 10 reasons Earth should be spared; otherwise, it will be shrunk to oblivion. To Prez, Sputnik looks like a boy wearing a kilt, a leather helmet, and flying goggles, but to everyone else, he looks like a dog. Selectively mute, Prez is trying to come to grips with being in a "temporary" foster home with a raucous family, while mistakenly thinking his granddad was taken away to prison rather than a nursing home. Cottrell Boyce (Millions; The Astounding Broccoli Boy) invites readers to suspend belief while going on a physics-defying, mind-bending adventure that's sure to appeal to a wide audience. When a motorized scooter becomes a getaway vehicle, Prez and Sputnik try to help Granddad retrieve lost memories, establish reasons why Earth should be saved, and, along the way, discover where they really belong and what is most important. VERDICT Begging to be read aloud and full of escapades, humor, and spunk, this is a stand-alone gem. For all middle grade shelves.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/15/2017 *Starred Review* Prez keeps his bag packed, positive that his grandfather will pick him up from the Children’s Temporary Accommodation at any moment. But until Granddad gets out of jail, Prez will be spending the summer at the Blythe family’s farm. He has barely arrived when a peculiar individual sporting a kilt and flight goggles appears at the door: Sputnik Mellows. He, too, is welcomed by the Blythes, who are somehow under the impression that he is a dog—handshakes all around! Still more curious, Sputnik can read Prez’s thoughts, a useful skill when dealing with a voluntary mute like Prez. How is all this possible? Sputnik is an alien, and quite a charming one at that, and he needs Prez’s help saving Earth from destruction. If, by the end of summer, the pair of them can come up with 10 things worth seeing—for an interplanetary guidebook—the planet will be saved. Boyce’s (Cosmic, 2008) newest is by turns hilarious and earnest. Sputnik’s zany energy and role as clueless tourist produce laugh-out-loud scenarios and turn everyday objects into things of wonder—you’ll never look at a remote control the same way again. On the flip side, he helps Prez find his voice and come to terms with hard truths about his grandfather. A stellar exploration of the meaning of home and the earthly wonders all around us. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

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