Author(s): Victoria Southgate

Space

Meet Belka and Strelka, the two dogs who changed the face of space history and became international celebrities in the process!

In 1960, two stray dogs were plucked from the streets of Moscow to become space pioneers.

This quirky and delightful picture book tells the incredible true story of these heroic strays. Selected from a number of potential canine cosmonauts, Belka and Strelka are put through their paces on the ground, as they practice rocket simulations and wearing spacesuits, before being launched into outer space as the first ever living creatures to successfully orbit the Earth.

Miraculously, the dogs survive the mission and upon their return embark on a tour of the USSR, clad in their carefully tailored jumpsuits - one red, one green - becoming international celebrities. As for their legacy, less than a year after their safe return the Soviet space programme felt confident enough to send the first human into space.