Boof, an introverted, nature-loving bear, and Pine, an extroverted porcupine who seeks adventure, join forces to find Boof's lucky leaf, which has blown away. Pine devises a plan to find the missing leaf, and an impressed Boof acquiesces, not seeming to notice that Pine is a little scatterbrained and his plan is goofy at best. In their search for the leaf, the duo manage to annoy a boar and a snake, get stuck in a hollow log, find themselves stranded on a mountain, and miss catching the leaf altogether. But never mind, they've found the perfect spot for roasting marshmallows around a campfire. The brief text and the humorous pencil-and-acrylic drawings, with richly colored backgrounds in natural tones that reflect the woodland setting, are skillfully balanced, conveying the slapstick quality of the hair-raising adventure. While Boof is large and docile and Pine is small and frenetic, both are a dome-shaped natural match, making it reasonable that they could be best buds and predisposed to multiple adventures eir second arrives in 2018.

Meet Pine the Porcupine and Boof the Bear and the lucky red leaf that brings them together. Boof loves to collect and play with stuff he finds in the forest. But out of all his discoveries, he loves his lucky red leaf the most. Naturally, misfortune soon befalls the good-natured bear: he loses his buddy during a "very windy day." In one fantastic double-page spread, Burach (I Am Not a Chair!, 2017, etc.) depicts Boof's loss in a tragic sequence, skillfully injecting a trace of emotional resonance to the story. What's Boof to do without his leafy pal? Enter Pine, a wannabe adventurer—and a klutz. The plucky porcupine offers his help, and the newly formed duo heads off to search for Boof's leaf. After looking everywhere, even in Boof's underwear, Pine and Boof find the leaf on a sleeping boar's snout. A mad dash follows, as the duo swings from a vine (which turns out to be a snake) and gets stuck in a log. The illustrations feature action and bright colors on each page, depicting the wacky antics with dynamic energy. Burach's dry narratorial voice frames Pine and Boof's adventure in a sardonic attitude that pokes light fun at the somewhat commonplace story. Alas, Boof's leaf escapes the duo's clutches, but Boof discovers something better in the end: a new friend. A predictable yet humorous origin story for an endearing pair. (Picture book. 4-8)

PreS-KBoof 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.Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore