Childrens

Laika the Astronaut

Laika the Astronaut

  • Downloads：3750
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-07 11:56:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Owen Davey
  • ISBN：1783700270
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews

Fernanda ，

This make me ugly cry。 "。。。is the one I choose to believe" also。 This make me ugly cry。 "。。。is the one I choose to believe" also。 。。。more

Nicki ，

Cute book about the first dog into space！ Peaceful alternate ending。

Keeley ，

I'm fine with the story being reimagined with the obvious tragic ending changed as it is of course a children's book， but I was expecting the happier twist at the end to be longer and be a more integral part of the story。。。 For example， we really only got 1 page of the "fantasy" twist ending while the rest was just a sugar-coated version of history。I think it would have worked much better had it been a little longer and the fantasy ending been explored a little more。 This would have made it feel I'm fine with the story being reimagined with the obvious tragic ending changed as it is of course a children's book， but I was expecting the happier twist at the end to be longer and be a more integral part of the story。。。 For example， we really only got 1 page of the "fantasy" twist ending while the rest was just a sugar-coated version of history。I think it would have worked much better had it been a little longer and the fantasy ending been explored a little more。 This would have made it feel like a children's fantasy version of Laika's story following her journey to finding a family after she was sent to space instead of just a sugar-coated version of her life up to take-off with a short and abrupt ending which didn't match the pace or the tone of the rest of the book。I still loved the art-style though as it felt very Soviet-esque and I actually enjoyed the art more than Nick Abadzis' more accurate graphic novel （meant foror older readers）。 3 stars as I still love any dedication to Laika and I appreciate that there is a storybook version which can be read to children however I still feel it would have been better suited as a story which followed her life in outer-space finding a true family （therefore being mostly fiction than fact and taking on the fantasy element） rather than the too-close-to-fact version which was skewed towards children and slightly offensive to Laika's memory with a fantasy element tacked on at the end which wasn't established or built upon over many pages。 。。。more

Marcus Gasques ，

O desfecho que todos teriam preferido para a cadelinha astronauta Laika， escrito e ilustrado pelo autor。

Jordan Brown ，

The art is gorgeous but this is a really bleak story for a picture book！ The author attempts to imagine a happy ending but I thought that was even sadder！

Susan ，

I really liked the art style of this book。 I couldn’t make it through reading this to my kid without stopping to sob， because I know that it was never intended for Laika to come back alive。 I was wondering how the book was going to handle that， and turns out the author decided to say “oh there was a malfunction and Laika couldn’t come back” and made up an ending that could be construed as Laika finding a family in dog heaven？ Or maybe Martians or other aliens？ But I think kids can handle the tru I really liked the art style of this book。 I couldn’t make it through reading this to my kid without stopping to sob， because I know that it was never intended for Laika to come back alive。 I was wondering how the book was going to handle that， and turns out the author decided to say “oh there was a malfunction and Laika couldn’t come back” and made up an ending that could be construed as Laika finding a family in dog heaven？ Or maybe Martians or other aliens？ But I think kids can handle the truth， and why write a book about Laika with a fantasy ending？ So here I am sobbing about this dog and my kid is like “Let’s read that again！” And I questioned my own judgement about picking this out at the library。 Anyway the graphic novel Laika by Nick Abadzis is amazing。 。。。more

Andrea Tomé ，

lovely retro style - a story worthy of a very brave little dog

Christopher ，

First， the title should be Laika: Cosmonaut Dog。Second， the artwork is fun and very Sovietesque。Third， the ending is a fantasy of the author's and is not true to historical events。Fourth， the overall story is pretty bland and unexciting with most spreads containing a singular sentence。 I guess that makes sense though if you're trying to build a story out of only "The USSR sent a dog to space。" First， the title should be Laika: Cosmonaut Dog。Second， the artwork is fun and very Sovietesque。Third， the ending is a fantasy of the author's and is not true to historical events。Fourth， the overall story is pretty bland and unexciting with most spreads containing a singular sentence。 I guess that makes sense though if you're trying to build a story out of only "The USSR sent a dog to space。" 。。。more

Kristine ，

Cute book with （fortunately） an alternate ending for Laika

Y。Poston ，

moving

Samantha Shank ，

I appreciated the simplicity （there needs to be more simple historical picture books for kiddos。 I didn't necessarily appreciate the false happy ending given。。The illustrations are beautiful though！ I appreciated the simplicity （there needs to be more simple historical picture books for kiddos。 I didn't necessarily appreciate the false happy ending given。。The illustrations are beautiful though！ 。。。more

Shane Harcombe ，

2。5 stars。 This book is so different to what I was expecting！ It is visually very interesting， using sharp lines & a muted palette to provide a soviet feel。 The story starts as expected - but the author then takes the resolution in a completely different direction。I was expecting a fictionalised historical tale， a way to introduce students to this part of space history。 I guess it still does that， but by introducing a fantasy element I am no longer sure how to use the text。

Kayla Livingston ，

I find it hilarious that a bunch of adults are rating this children's book poorly because the ending is false。 So let me guess， all of these parents tell their children that Santa， the Tooth-fairy， Easter-bunny， etc。 aren't true？ It's a cute children's book with a happy ending that covers up the sad ending。 An ending that you can tell your child about when they are older if they even remember the book。 For fuck sake， it's called knowing your audience。 If it told the true ending I'm sure everyone I find it hilarious that a bunch of adults are rating this children's book poorly because the ending is false。 So let me guess， all of these parents tell their children that Santa， the Tooth-fairy， Easter-bunny， etc。 aren't true？ It's a cute children's book with a happy ending that covers up the sad ending。 An ending that you can tell your child about when they are older if they even remember the book。 For fuck sake， it's called knowing your audience。 If it told the true ending I'm sure everyone would be bitching about that too。 。。。more

Meg ，

Made two librarians cry-- on the desk-- ten stars， would absolutely read again。 Wonderful illustrations and a touching author's note。 Made two librarians cry-- on the desk-- ten stars， would absolutely read again。 Wonderful illustrations and a touching author's note。 。。。more

Sandy ，

Sadly， these beautiful illustrations are wasted on a book with a horrible ending。

Castle Spooktacular （Cassandra Woods） ，

Gorgeous illustrations and a good story。

Marissa Morrison ，

Davey tries to rewrite history so that the poor dog who got sent up to outer space by himself to die alone， unimaginably uncomfortable and confused end up。。。 adopted by aliens。 WTF。

Caterpickles ，

As others have noted， this is a fictional retelling of the story of Laika， one of the Soviet Space Dogs in the 1950s and 1960s。 Instead of telling what really happens to Laika， the author takes a flight of fancy and gives her a happily ever after。 In giving this book to my daughter， I paired it with Soviet Space Dogs by Olesya Turkina。 That way she could both know the truth of Laika's story from Olesya Turkina's book， and imagine a happily ever after along with Owen Davey。 Review originally post As others have noted， this is a fictional retelling of the story of Laika， one of the Soviet Space Dogs in the 1950s and 1960s。 Instead of telling what really happens to Laika， the author takes a flight of fancy and gives her a happily ever after。 In giving this book to my daughter， I paired it with Soviet Space Dogs by Olesya Turkina。 That way she could both know the truth of Laika's story from Olesya Turkina's book， and imagine a happily ever after along with Owen Davey。 Review originally posted on my blog Caterpickles。 。。。more

M ，

Heartbreaking， joyful and filled with hope。 An incredible piece of art。

Kaycee ，

Great art。 Weird ending。

Ashley ，

Beautiful artwork but I dislike the ending as it is inaccurate。

Kimberly ，

I like the illustrations， and the story is fine until the end。 Why tell this story if you're going to change the ending？ Just make up your own story about a stray dog who gets adopted by aliens， if that's what you're after。 Strange。 I like the illustrations， and the story is fine until the end。 Why tell this story if you're going to change the ending？ Just make up your own story about a stray dog who gets adopted by aliens， if that's what you're after。 Strange。 。。。more

Mollie B ，

I don't think Laika found her forever home the way the story implies。 I don't think Laika found her forever home the way the story implies。 。。。more

Colin ，

A stylishly illustrated children’s story book with a rather happier ending than the true historical tale。 It’s an intergalactic dog’s life！

Andrea ，

I found it too sad。

Jane ，

Picked this up at the Science Museums's Cosmonaut exhibition。 The illustrations are beautiful。 It's nicely written。 But it dissolves into a fantasy ending。 Still brought tears to my eyes mind you。 Picked this up at the Science Museums's Cosmonaut exhibition。 The illustrations are beautiful。 It's nicely written。 But it dissolves into a fantasy ending。 Still brought tears to my eyes mind you。 。。。more

Amy Risner ，

Beautiful illustrations。 I'm confused by adults rating this children's book with 1 star。 The book description literally tells you that it isn't depicted accurately due to Laika's real fate。 Does your child want to read a book about a dog dying in space？ How she never had a real home and then overheated and suffocated？ No？ Well， then get off your high horse and just enjoy the retelling for what it is。 It is a beautiful ode for Laika， the poor little dog that sadly met a horrific end while on Sput Beautiful illustrations。 I'm confused by adults rating this children's book with 1 star。 The book description literally tells you that it isn't depicted accurately due to Laika's real fate。 Does your child want to read a book about a dog dying in space？ How she never had a real home and then overheated and suffocated？ No？ Well， then get off your high horse and just enjoy the retelling for what it is。 It is a beautiful ode for Laika， the poor little dog that sadly met a horrific end while on Sputnik。 The author even has a giant page at the end explaining that he altered the ending to make it "happier" - so how this is misleading anyone is beyond me。 I got this book for my husband who is a huge Laika fan and he loved it （even though it brought tears to our eyes）。 。。。more

Anastasija ，

A nice book retelling a story of a first dog in space。 I found the story very touching， with a meaning。 A nice book to explore the concepts of space and space travel。 I also liked this books because I found some russian text in it。 I think it is a very nice book and I am glad our local library had it。

Megan ，

Absolutely stunning artwork and interesting take on the Laika story。 However if speaking honestly with children is a high priority for you， this will not be an easy read。 To the best of my knowledge Laika's greatest problem was not engine malfunction and I suggest you preview this and think carefully before you read it with kids。 Absolutely stunning artwork and interesting take on the Laika story。 However if speaking honestly with children is a high priority for you， this will not be an easy read。 To the best of my knowledge Laika's greatest problem was not engine malfunction and I suggest you preview this and think carefully before you read it with kids。 。。。more

Em ，

I read this because I wanted to check out Owen Davey's illustrations and also because I was curious to see how the sad story of Laika translated to a picture book format/child audience。 The happy ending is sweet， but confusing - I'm not sure how I feel about giving a happy ending to a true story without one， especially in a way that is stated as if it is fact rather than fiction。 The author's note clears this up a bit - i。e。 says that this is the happy ending he chooses to believe - but still fo I read this because I wanted to check out Owen Davey's illustrations and also because I was curious to see how the sad story of Laika translated to a picture book format/child audience。 The happy ending is sweet， but confusing - I'm not sure how I feel about giving a happy ending to a true story without one， especially in a way that is stated as if it is fact rather than fiction。 The author's note clears this up a bit - i。e。 says that this is the happy ending he chooses to believe - but still found the ending strange。 Beautiful illustrations。 Sweet little Laika。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Laika the Astronaut

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Laika the Astronaut&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Laika the Astronaut&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0