It’s not all bad, though as Liam says, “Being doomed is Not Good. But being weightless is Outstanding.” Liam is a twelve-year-old kid who’s so tall that he’s easily mistaken for an adult, as he discovers when he and his classmate Florida wander around town together after school. Stopping by a car dealership, Liam is approached by the salesman, who assumes Florida is his daughter. Soon enough Liam finds himself invited to take a flashy Porsche for a test drive. To his relief, his taxi-driving father brings this unnerving experience to an end before Liam has to actually put the car in gear.īut when he enters a competition to win a place on a secret amusement park ride, Liam finds that posing as Florida’s father has its advantages: he is chosen to be the sole adult in charge of the four kids who’ve been selected by the Drax Foundation to secretly ride a rocket ship out of earth orbit. Soon after launch, the kids fight over who gets to man the controls, and the next thing they know, their ship has tumbled out of orbit and they can no longer see Earth.

The ceremony was met with worldwide acclaim and even included a section inspired by children's books.You know how, once in a great while, you finish a book and it was so good that you want to start reading it all over again? That’s what happened to me with Frank Cottrell Boyce’s “ Cosmic.”Īs the book opens, Liam Digby is explaining that he’s not really on a school trip, as he told his parents. Instead, he’s lost in outer space aboard the rocket ship Infinite Possibility and he’s “all right…ish.” How did he get there? Frank worked on the project for two years as the official scriptwriter. Having worked with director Danny Boyle on Millions, Danny asked Frank to be part of the team creating the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012. It was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize.įrank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Frank's third novel, Cosmic, was published in June 2008. It was made into a BBC feature-length film in 2009. Frank's second novel, Framed, was published in September 2005 and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Prize. Millions has also been made into a movie directed by Danny Boyle. He lives in Merseyside with his family.įrank'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. Frank Cottrell-Boyce, father of seven, is an established British screenwriter whose credits include God on Trial, Welcome to Sarajevo, Hilary and Jackie and 24 Hour Party People.

Cosmic frank cottrell