I read this book to my year 5 class and they all loved it. It was full of funny situations that Liam had got himself into due to his height that made my class and I laugh out loud. It's written from Liam's point of view which shows the naivety of a young teenager's thought process and how they can get themselves into trouble without even trying. This was especially funny for the boys in the class. This book follows the story of a 12-year-old boy, Liam, who is often mistaken for an adult due to his height and facial hair. In the beginning, there is some explanation of the adventures this has led to (and the often disastrous outcomes), as he dwells on the time he had taken a Porsche on a test drive with his ‘daughter’ Florida (who is actually a friend from school). The majority of the book, however, is dedicated to their time in space, orbiting the moon in a shuttle that closely resembles an ice-cream bus. It’s also just a great book about dads and how important they are. Adults reading will understand pretty early on that Florida’s supposedly perfect father that she's always comparing Liam to is just a figment of her imagination. In fact, fathers are sort of the most consistent theme of the book. Early on Liam comes to the conclusion that his dad only speaks on five separate topics of conversation. Then, when he finds himself a kind of pseudo-father, he steals his dad’s book on how to talk to teens, and finds himself in the old man’s shoes. Finally, even when he’s in the most trouble, Liam can’t help but think that his dad may still find him, even in the farthest reaches of space. It’s this childlike faith that keeps reminding you that for all his posturing, Liam’s really just a kid like the rest of them. And when Liam acts like a kid, it always makes sense. He doesn’t do it randomly. He just reacts to situations like a child would want to and the result is sometimes funny, sometimes disastrous. Which in turn makes his sacrifice at the end all the more impressive.

Frank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012. I think the author was counting on the fact that nerds from different factions don't mix. Meaning that reader nerds don't play online games and gamer nerds don't read kids' novels. When we got the manoeuvre just slightly wrong – just slightly enough to make us completely doomed – they all screamed for about an hour and then they dozed off. I can't sleep. I can't get comfortable in sleeping bags because they're always too small for me. Plus I think if I stay awake I might have an idea. And save us all. That's why I'm recording this on my Draxphone. If I do get home, I'm going to give it to you and then you'll understand how I ended up in deep space when I said I was going pond dipping in the Lake District. What do you know about space? Can you name any planets, moons, stars or galaxies in our solar system?Liam is a funny, engaging narrator, a mix of precocious child and wise adult who is obsessed with the Waterloos of the world and a role-playing computer game called World of Warcraft (which comes in very handy for navigating his way through encounters with grumpy adults). He carries the novel easily. When you remember how much practice Liam has at pretending to be an adult, and of having adults who know he's a kid always expecting him to behave better, "big lad like you", it's not all that surprising. Sure, sometimes his voice was a little too mature, but it also has that naïve youthfulness that you leave behind before you hit 20. Usually. Cosmic has a theme of World of Warcraft throughout. Liam often talks about the game to explain his motivations and logic. I think it's a wonderful mechanism to get an insight into his mind. A slightly awkward boy, and socially somewhat stilted, Liam's application of gaming logic to real-life situations is totally believable. Being shortlisted for the Guardian Prize gives you a particularly warm glow because it is awarded by a panel of your fellow authors. Past winners include my childhood heroes - Alan Garner, Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken - and contemporary heroes like Mark Haddon, Geraldine McCaughrean and Meg Rosoff.” Liam is the kind of student I would love to teach - clever, independent, adventurous, and kind. He is constantly pushing the limit to see how how far his adult appearance can take him (test driving a Porche?), but it's clear to the reader that he isn't really trying to take advantage of people, he just likes to have big adventures.

And did I mention that author Frank Cottrell Boyce lives in England? I was smitten with the British vocabulary sprinkled throughout. In fact, I frequently found myself reading with a mental British accent, and a big smile on my face, because seriously... doesn't a British accent make everything just a little bit better? Frank is also a successful writer of film scripts and was the official scriptwriter for the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics, playing an important role devising the ceremony with Danny Boyle. He is also a judge for the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition. You can read a great interview with Frank and one of his fellow judge, Francesca Simon here!A few years ago I fell hard for Millions, Frank Cotrell Boyce’s first book for children. The outlandish situation (two boys feverishly spending large amounts of money), the characterizations (particularly of the two boys and their father), the subtle handling of the big emotional and theological themes (of grief and faith), the laugh-out-loud humorous moments (my favorite being the playground economy), and the remarkable voice of narrator Damian (the younger of the two boys) made it a memorable novel for me as well as for my students when I read it aloud to them. Boyce’s next novel, Framed, did not win me over the same way. Fortunately, he has gone one better with his newest book, Cosmic.* Frank's first book, Millions, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 and has been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2004. Millions has also been made into a movie directed by Danny Boyle. Frank's second novel, Framed, was published in September 2005 and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Prize. It was made into a BBC feature-length film in 2009. Frank's third novel, Cosmic, was published in June 2008. It was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize. To come so close and not realise his dream! He manages to convince Dr Drax that the children should have an adult present, but Dr Drax decides to let the children vote on which Dad they want with them by voting on them after a series of challenges. Problem is, why would the kids want a computer-game obsessed "dad" with them when they know he'll hog the controls? Cosmic Detective – written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt with art, colors, and lettering by David Rubín, and flatting by Xulia Pisón and Kike J. Díaz – follows as an archetypal detective investigates the murder of a ‘god.’ The detective works for a shadowy organization dedicated to maintaining a tense peace with the cosmic beings of unimaginable power. An apple seed appears to be the murder weapon and a woman was kidnapped amid the killing. Having said that and putting the game aside I thought this was a very cute story and that Liam is a likable character. It was sweet and tame enough for middle graders but enough adventure to keep kids a bit older engaged.

Lemire and Kindt ensure there’s never a moment where one genre feels inorganic to the other, weaving the extraterrestrial into the plot of the investigation with a deft hand. The tropes of both feed into one another creating a harmony of exposition, MacGuffins, and motivation to move the story from start to finish, living in the complexities of both. Mysterious women, world-weary detectives, and epic, cosmic weapons make for an exceptional hook that keeps the familiar in the foreground while the fantastical, otherworldly technology fills the panels. It's one giant leap for all boy-kind in Frank Cottrell Boyce's out-of-this-world story: Cosmic. Liam is too big for his boots. And his football strip. And his school blazer. But being super-sized height-wise has its advantages: he's the only eleven-year-old to ever ride the G-force-defying Cosmic rollercoaster - or to be offered the chance to drive a Porsche. Long-legged Liam makes a giant leap for boy-kind by competing with a group of adults for the chance to go into space. Is Liam the best boy for the job? Sometimes being big isn't all about being a grown-up.June 2010 COSMIC by Frank Cottrell Boyce, HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press, January 2010, 320p., ISBN: 978-0-06-183683-1; Libr. ISBN: 978-0-06-183686-2

When Liam finds out he has won a contest to be the first on a brand new thrill ride at an amusement park, he's ecstatic! So what if he has to pose as a dad? He's done that plenty of times. But then Liam finds out that... Frank Cottrell Boyce is better known as the author of Millions, which was made into a movie. I haven't seen it, or read the book. Other reviewers have said it's a better book than Cosmic - considering how much I enjoyed this, perhaps I should read Millions too. Cosmic is an utterly delightful read - and I've been waiting for ages to say that about a book!After all, Boyce is a funny writer. He knows how to craft a good line. Example A: “I don’t think the world has vanished. But it is worrying not being able to see it. After all, Earth is where I keep all my stuff.” When Liam’s dad tells him to get a friend who’s not an online companion his argument is, “You need a friend who is visible to the naked eye.” And Boyce is the master of funny (and always pertinent) chapter headings like “The Ice-Cream Man of the Gobi Desert”.