The Vlad flea picture books present historical events in lively stories with Vlad relating the ups and downs in his cheeky inimitable style. The information in the tales are accurate and backed with a fact file at the end of the book. On 19 th August 1960 Strelka and Belka the dogs were launched into space as part of the Russian space programme. They had been taken from the streets of Moscow where they lived as strays, and found themselves in a training centre undergoing various tests to prepare them for the adventure ahead. However, despite all the work nobody knew if they would survive the adventure, as no living creature had before. The stakes were high as both Russia and America raced to be the first to conqueror space and dominate the uncharted territory beyond the Earth's atmosphere. The dogs orbited Earth and returned as heroes. Strelka went on to have puppies and one was sent to President Kennedy. The images and words have been created to provide a quality text from which children can learn about these events in a fun and engaging way. They also provide material for the teaching of the topic and Vlad has proved time and again to be a firm favourite with pupils and teachers in stimulating a wealth of ideas for written work in the classroom.