Review by Booklist Review
Burach follows up Pine & Boof: The Lucky Leaf (2017) with this romp into outer space at least, in characters' imaginations. The action starts with an Oof, as a purple, speckled egg hits Boof (a bear) on the head while he's collecting rocks in the forest. Pine (a porcupine) concludes that this egg is from outer space and that they must return it to its rightful space nest. From this erroneous conclusion (Pine and Boof walk under a bird's nest with one egg obviously missing), a lot of comedy ensues. The buddies build a spaceship from found objects in the forest, starting with a hollowed-out log for the cabin. They blast off backward down a hill and into a dark cave, which, of course, they conclude is outer space. The climax (a space monster i.e., the mother bird enters the cave) and resolution (the egg is returned to nest) are funny and fitting. The illustrations, done with pencil and acrylic paints colored digitally, give a woodsy, woodcut feel to the action.--Connie Fletcher Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Another fun adventure from this humorous duo. It begins as a normal day for Pine the porcupine and Boof the bear. The two buddies are out collecting rocks when Boof is bonked on the head with an egg from outer space. Pine knows that they need to do the right thing. Somehow they must to return the egg to its nest in space. It will not be an easy task. The pair will need a sweet rocket that will take them into the great beyond. An old log will make a fine cabin for the rocket and bean cans are excellent boosters. Space training is also essential. They need to be able to handle g-force launch speed and nourishment is imperative, so the friends must bring plenty of sandwiches. They are finally ready for blastoff. Pine may be the "brains" of the team but Boof adds entertainment. He does a lot of hard thinking and even more eating. The pencil illustrations have enough detail to make the characters and scenarios captivating to young eyes. The limited palette works well. The dark background creates the illusion of the friends being on a faraway planet. It also allows readers to focus their attention on the main characters. While the pair create their mode of transportation and believe they have arrived on a distant planet, young readers will enjoy seeing what is actually happening. VERDICT An enchanting book about fun, friendship, and imagination; purchase where the buddies are popular.-Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The irrepressible porcupine-and-bear duo is back, this time on a rescue mission to space.Out collecting rocks one day, Pine the porcupine and Boof the bear are surprised when an egg from outer space (identified by its shape, color, and markings by an excited Pine) drops on Boof's head. What to do? Well, they need to return it to space, of course. So, it's off to build a rocket. Burach's pencil, acrylic, and digital illustrations are a true delight, extending the story and upping the humor with careful, whimsical details. Readers will love feeling as though they know more than the two friends, who declare it fell from "a million light-years away" while standing under a birds' nest with two eggs, an additional one clearly missing. And the rocket Pine constructs is one readers could copy, although caregivers might not want them to eat quite so many beans ("Rocket boosters!"). Once Pine tests Boof's ability to handle the rigors of space travel, they are off. The ending is pure Pine and Boof and wonderfully satisfying for all (even mama bird and baby). The final page shows Boof's paws writing captions to pictures in his scrapbook about sharing their adventure with their friendsperhaps readers will be inspired to track their own journeys.As Boof writes, "Adventure on!" (and soon, please). (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
