Laika

Description: Laika was the abandoned puppy destined to become Earth's first space traveler. This is her journey.
Nick Abadzis masterfully blends fiction and fact in the intertwined stories of three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, once a political prisoner, now a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program, and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika's health and life. This intense triangle is rendered with the pitch-perfect emotionality of classics like Because of Winn Dixie, Shiloh, and Old Yeller. Abadzis gives life to a pivotal moment in modern history, casting light on the hidden moments of deep humanity behind history. Laika's story will speak straight to your heart.
"Laika" is the winner of the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens and an Eisner Award nominee for Best Reality-Based Work.

Review: Starred review in August 1st 2007 issue of Kirkus

Following the story of plucky Laika -- the first dog in space -- the reader experiences her entire life from a mongrel living in the streets to the tragic loss of her canine companion, her captivity in the government lab, her endearing relationship with the unwavering caretaker Yelena and her tragic fatal mission. The strong ties between Laika (renamed after her breed type) are exceptionally well defined; in fact, Laika has the ability to touch every character's life, even the most emotionally indifferent social-climbing Russian politicians. Evincing the cruelty and sadness of her life, Laika's striving to be loved echoes, and the strong bond between man -- or woman -- and his best friend resound off every page of her journey. The striking palette of earth tones works in concert with the compelling historically fictive prose -- a luminous masterpiece filled with pathos and poignancy. (afterword, bibliography, author's note) (Graphic novel. YA) Review in 14th August 2007 School Library Journal Blog

Dead dog books used to be a dime a dozen. Time was a kid couldn't walk into a bookstore without getting whacked over the head with "Old Yeller," creamed in the kisser by "Sounder," and roughed up royally by "Where the Red Fern Grows." Recently, however, dogs don't die as often as all that. You could probably concoct some magnificent sociological explanation for this, citing changes in the political and emotional landscape of our great nation leading to the decrease in deceased literary pups, but as I see it, a good dead dog story is as hard to write as an original paper on Moby Dick. What else is there to say? Man's best friend dies and everyone feels bad. In this jaded culture it would take a pretty steady hand to find a way to write a dead dog tale that touches us deeply. Not a dog person myself, I direct your attention today to Nick Abadzis. I don't know how he did it. Laika, the world's most famous real dead dog (a

Author Biography: Nick Abadzis is a British comics creator whose work has been published across the globe--from the U.S. to Japan. He based his book on the true story of the Sputnik 2: there was really a dog named Laika, and she touched the stars before she died. In writing his graphic novel, Nick Abadzis did thorough scientific and historical research, including traveling to Russia, visiting special Sputnik 2 archives, and interviewing experts in the field. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.