FICTION

Pine & Boof: The Lucky Leaf

by Ross BURACH
illus. by Ross Burach. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. Sept. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062418500.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—Boof the bear is a nervous type, but his lucky leaf keeps him safe. He and the leaf do everything together, until a strong breeze blows his sidekick away. Luckily, Pine the porcupine is only too eager to help. Some of the assistance he offers is a little iffy (performing calculations, swinging on vines), but in the end, Boof's fears are calmed as he's lost his leaf but found a new friend. Burach has created an enjoyable story that is accompanied by muted, relaxing pencil and acrylic paint images. A little too much happens in the story for young audiences to keep track of, though, and some of the elements presented, such as a bikini top on the bear's head and the use of a compass, might mystify them.
VERDICT Additional. A better finding-a-friend book is Phyllis Root's Toot Toot Zoom! and better losing-your-comfort-object titles are Mo Willems's Knuffle Bunny and Amber Stewart's I'm Big Enough.
Reviewed by Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore
Timid bear Boof loves his lucky red leaf; when the leaf blows away, the desperate Boof is aided in his search by Pine, an adventurous porcupine. The slight story is padded with an overlong text, underwear jokes, and trite cartoon humor (e.g., mistaking a snake for a vine), but there's energy in the flat pencil and acrylic illustrations and a happy if predictable ending.
 , Jun 01, 2018

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