Lucy and the Rocket Dog - Hardcover

Buckingham, Will

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399554327 ISBN 13: 9780399554322

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017

Synopsis

The unforgettable story of the bond between a budding scientist and her beloved dog, perfect for fans of A Wrinkle in Time and See You In the Cosmos.
 
Lucy loves space. She loves to gaze up at the stars and bask in space’s bigness and its here, there, and everywhereness. She loves it so much that she built a rocket ship in her backyard, hoping that one day she can use it to explore space herself. The ship is just Prototype I, though, so it’s not ready to carry anyone into orbit yet. Or so she thinks.

Laika doesn’t give much thought to space—she is a dog, after all. The thing that Laika loves the most is Lucy. She loves Lucy so much that, one evening, she wanders into Prototype I looking for her—and is promptly launched into space.

While Laika takes off on an intergalactic adventure, Lucy begins a lifelong scientific quest to bring her dog home. Told from the two friends’ alternating perspectives and, in turns, heartbreaking and hilarious, this tale will win over anyone who has ever loved a pet, or who has looked at the stars and wondered just what might be going on in the here, there, and everywhereness.
A Library Information Technology Association Excellence in Children’s & Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Book

“I wish I had this book when I was a kid! It brings you on a fun adventure through the universe and sneaks in some fascinating science along the way.”—Emily Calandrelli, Correspondent on Bill Nye Saves the World

"Reminiscent of Roald Dahl's style . . . . For those who might enjoy a dog book, a science book, or just a good story."--Kirkus

"Readers who have ever loved a dog and tinkerers who dream of leaving the prototype stage of design will enjoy this tale of friendship and improbable interstellar canine time-bending."--SLJ

About this title

About the Author:

Will Buckingham is a novelist, lecturer, and philosopher based in Leicester, England. Will’s most recent books include a Teach Yourself book on the art, craft, and graft of writing novels; the children’s book The Snorgh and the Sailor, published in the UK; a novel, The Descent of the Lyre; a little philosophy book called Introducing Happiness; and a monograph on the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. Learn more about Will on his website at WillBuckingham.com and on Twitter at @WillBuckingham.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—A lesson in relativity for both space enthusiasts and dog lovers. Improbable as it may seem, Lucy, a young British girl passionate about astronomy, builds a rocket ship in her backyard. She has named it Prototype I, as she assumes it will take her many iterations before she has an actual functioning rocket. Into the rocket one night clambers her likable but not very bright dog, Laika. Through a series of blunders, the dog launches the rocket. Lucy has programmed the rocket to travel at nearly the speed of light, so the chapters alternate between a bereft Lucy, who ages and grows up to become a Nobel Prize—winning astronomer, and Laika, who is away from her beloved human for only a few weeks. Readers are aware that Laika is adventuring in space while Lucy spends her life in a state of melancholy over Laika's fate. A satisfying deus ex machina brings the book to a happy ending, with the laws of physics obeyed. Though suspension of disbelief is required throughout the story, readers who have ever loved a dog and tinkerers who dream of leaving the prototype stage of design will enjoy this tale of friendship and improbable interstellar canine time-bending. VERDICT Infused with a tone of loss and longing for loved ones left behind, this novel may need help finding the right audience, but the theory of relativity is brought to life vividly.—John Scott, Friends School of Baltimore

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0399554327
• ISBN 13: 9780399554322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Arnaldo Monica