The Astronaut's Apprentice

by Philip Threadneedle

Bradley is a normal boy who lives on a farm. One night, his long lost alien Grandpa sneaks home in a flying saucer. They embark on a whirlwind tour of Outer Space, armed with nothing but their wits, some seriously stylish space suits, and a bottle of Gee Whiz Soda. Along the way, they meet a tailor from the Asteroid Belt, a one-eyed girl from Pluto, and an exploding alien called Waldo. Don't miss your chance to meet Grandpa - the original space-aged pensioner!

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2010

About the author

"Philip Threadneedle wrote his first book, A Cow in the Canteen, when he was at primary school. It was six pages long. You'll be delighted to hear that his current works are even longer, and every bit as exciting."

I come from the north of England and write funny children's books set in space. My debut novel, The Astronaut's Apprentice, was described as "laugh-out-loud funny in places... a fun and unusual book" by the Bookbag.

The sequel, City of Meteors, was released in December 2011.

Reviews

[Leon Baxter]

Threadneedle gave me a copy of this book in 2014. I am sure I read it, but don't recall it. Just stumbled across it and saw that I apparently read it to my students, because I got a letter from the author thanking me for sending him letters from my students.

It's a fun book for kids. American children might question some of the British verbiage. I enjoyed it. Only wish it concluded and promised the ending in the next book in the series.

Even Back to the Future had a resolution before creating a new problem for the next in the series.