Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns
Return this item for free
  • Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
  • Learn more about free returns.
How to return the item?
FREE delivery:
Get free shipping
Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon.
Or get faster shipping on this item starting at $5.99 . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)
Learn more about free shipping
Wednesday, Nov 24 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details
Fastest delivery: Tuesday, Nov 23
In Stock.
As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.
$$21.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$21.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Return policy: Returnable until Jan 31, 2022
For the 2021 holiday season, returnable items purchased between October 1 and December 31 can be returned until January 31, 2022
Laika has been added to your Cart
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery:
Get free shipping
Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon.
Or get faster shipping on this item starting at $5.99 . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)
Learn more about free shipping
Saturday, Nov 27 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by Yanosteena
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: This book in good condition, with no highlighting or writing, an Ex-library book, library's stamp on deckled fore-edge, library stickers on the spine 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships direct from Amazon
<Embed>
Other Sellers on Amazon
$14.22
+ $3.99 shipping
Sold by: indoobestsellers
Sold by: indoobestsellers
(230474 ratings)
91% positive over last 12 months
In stock.
Usually ships within 4 to 5 days.
Shipping rates and Return policy
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Enter your mobile phone or email address

Processing your request...

By pressing "Send link," you agree to Amazon's Conditions of Use.

You consent to receive an automated text message from or on behalf of Amazon about the Kindle App at your mobile number above. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message & data rates may apply.

Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

Follow the Author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.


Laika Paperback – September 4, 2007

4.6 out of 5 stars 180 ratings

Price
New from Used from
Kindle
Library Binding
Paperback
$21.99
$14.22 $2.25

Enhance your purchase


Audible Holiday Deal
Save 46% on your first 4 months. Get this deal

Frequently bought together

  • Laika
  • +
  • Creatures of Empire: How Domestic Animals Transformed Early America
  • +
  • The Reindeer People: Living With Animals and Spirits in Siberia
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Special offers and product promotions

  • Create your FREE Amazon Business account to save up to 10% with Business-only prices and free shipping.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

Questions for Nick Abadzis

Jeff VanderMeer for Amazon.com: What inspired you to pick this particular topic for a graphic novel? And why, for example, a graphic novel as opposed to a strictly written account?

Abadzis: I'd known it was a good story since I was about six years old. It had always been at the back of my mind as a story to tell. In 2002, new information came to light about the Sputnik II mission and specifically Laika's death. That was the spark, although back then I envisaged something much shorter. It, uh, grew. Why a graphic novel? Well, comics are my language. It's the medium that I'm most familiar and comfortable...so it was first choice.

Amazon.com: What most surprised you while researching Laika?

Abadzis: There were a few things. I had no idea there were so few Soviet engineers and scientists involved in the nascent space program--not to trivialize their incredible achievement but, in many senses, they just winged it, borne along in great part by Korolev's force of will and political maneuvering. Also it was interesting to find out how much the Soviet scientists cared for their cosmodogs. Events conspired to make Laika a sacrificial passenger on board Sputnik II, but they really did honor their canine cosmonauts. There's even a statue of Laika in Moscow. Perhaps this book will go some small way to re-establishing her position in history: whatever the circumstances, and whether you agree with what they did or not, she was the first earthling in orbit around this planet.

Amazon.com: Was there anything that didn't make it into the graphic novel because it just didn't fit?

Abadzis: There was quite a bit, actually. I could have done with another hundred pages. But I'd taken a bit of time to write and thumbnail it (which I do at the same time) and when that stage was finished, the publisher and I realized that the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launches was fast approaching. When I first pitched the idea to Mark Siegel at First Second, neither of us realized that it was so close. It felt like we needed to be a part of that, so I drew it extremely fast--two hundred pages in a little over eight months. It's an understatement to say that it was extremely hard work. What got left out was a longer explication of Laika's origins; the scenes with Mikhail, her first owner were much longer.... Originally, I did have an idea of doing three books: Laika would be the first, Gagarin the second, and a full-on comic strip biography of Korolev [the driven engineer on the project] would be the final part that would bind together events seen in the first two. Maybe one day. Certainly, elements of Korolev's life that I felt were important to the story made it into the final version of the book.

Amazon.com: Did you worry about the sentimentality inherent in the situation? How did that affect your decisions in creating the graphic novel?

Abadzis: I suppose it would have been easy to make it another cutesy, twee, and overly saccharine dead-dog story but that wouldn't have been true either to my taste or to the socio-political system and culture I was attempting to portray. Laika--the real Laika--was a cute dog, as photographs attest. There's no getting away from it, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest her owners thought so, too. I didn't want to anthropomorphize her, at least not to the extent that she was spouting speech/thought balloons like, say Tintin's Snowy (which works just fine for those books). Having made that decision--which I didn't really feel was an option, in any case--I knew that to really do it justice, I'd have to do a lot of research. The sentiment of the story, such as it is, would take care of itself and be implicit in certain character's actions or words (or not, as the case may be).... All that said, it'd be disingenuous to suggest that, in dealing with a true story that involves dogs and their owners (even if they happen to be scientists in a Soviet cosmodog program), there wouldn't be a bit of emotion. There's plenty (and I hope the reader feels it). But there's also the harsh reality of the time, the place and the confluence of events that put Laika into space.

Amazon.com: What are you currently working on?

Abadzis: I'm currently working on a new graphic novel for older readers called Skin Trouble, which is also for First Second. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what that's all about, suffice to say it'll be an ensemble piece, character-wise. I've also got a children's graphic novel in the works. Can't say anything about that at all, but I'm looking forward to drawing it.

From Booklist

Classic dog-story themes such as loyalty serve as a backdrop for this fictionalized account of Laika, the first living creature launched into outer space. A charming and scruffy little dog, Laika survives an uncaring master and life as a stray before becoming part of the Russian space program circa 1956, just as the Soviet Union had achieved a huge victory over American competition. With a stilted romanticism that doesn't fit the story's tone, Laika is established as "a very special dog," but soon the focus of the complex tale turns away from the dog to Yelena Dubrovsky, the trainer responsible for preparing Laika and the other dogs for the rigors of testing. Through Dubrovsky, the progress of the program and the incredible pressure on the scientists are given effective form. The rough-hewn art, similar to the Joann Sfar's work on the Dungeon books, makes the characters appear constantly nervous and uncertain, lending immediacy to the all-pervasive atmosphere of strict formality and enforced patriotism. An extensive bibliography of sources is appended. Karp, Jesse

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ First Second; First edition (September 4, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1596431016
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1596431010
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 14 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ GN370L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.11 x 0.49 x 8.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 180 ratings

Audible Holiday Deal
Save 46% on your first 4 months. Get this deal

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Nick Abadzis has been creating books, magazines, comics and stories for both adults and children for thirty years.

As both cartoonist and writer, he’s been honored with various international storytelling awards including an Eisner in 2008 for his graphic novel Laika. He also works as an editorial consultant for publishing and a corporate scribe AKA graphic recorder – he has collaborated with clients such as EY, KPMG, Accenture, Coca-Cola, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, General Electric, WOBI and many others.

He’s been published in the USA by Cond&eacute; Nast, First Second, Marvel Comics, Titan Comics, DC Comics, in the UK by the BBC, various national newspapers including The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and many other periodicals too numerous to mention; elsewhere in Europe by the likes of Dargaud and Gl&eacute;nat, and in Japan by Kodansha. He is also known to Doctor Who fandom as the writer of a great many Tenth Doctor adventures (David Tennant) on an acclaimed run of stories for Titan Comics, several collections of which are available. He is British but based in and around New York City where he lives with his wife and daughter.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
180 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
16 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
3 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2019
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Report abuse

Top reviews from other countries

Mr. James Foster
4.0 out of 5 stars Desperately sad, but a fantastic graphic novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
8 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book with great illustrations
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Russell LEAK
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant. Emotional. Beautiful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2014
Verified Purchase
a
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
anthony reynolds
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly sad. Have loved Nick's work since Tate
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2017
Verified Purchase