Hedgie Blasts Off! [Hardcover]

Jan Brett (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

More than anything Hedgie wants to be an astronaut and travel into space. He gets his chance the day the geyser, Big Sparkler, starts to sputter and fade, disappointing all the alien tourists, who fly to the tiny planet of Mikkop to throw coins into Big Sparkler and look at the strange flowers that survive on its sparkles.

Because only Hedgie can fit into a small space ship, he flies to Mikkop, where he not only finds out what is clogging up Big Sparkler, but fixes the problem in a most unusual way. He returns home a hero amid cheers from the aliens and the scientists back at the Star Lab.

With an amazing gatefold illustration of Hedgie bursting out of Big Sparkler this is not only one of Jan Brett’s most inventive books, but it’s one of the funniest. Fans will love the unusual setting as they laugh along with a wild cast of characters, including comic aliens, canine scientists and bird reporters.

So jump on a spaceship and take a ride to Big Sparkler. You’ll be glad you made the trip!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–Hedgie the hedgehog is back. Aspiring to become an astronaut, he works as a member of the cleanup crew for the Star Lab run by the Professor (a dog), who is the smartest scientist on Earth and in charge of Outer Space. On the tiny planet of Mikkop, an erupting crater called the Big Sparkler, a popular tourist attraction, is inexplicably slowing down. The Professor orders his team to build a small spaceship that can carry a robotic astronaut into space to assess the problem. When the robot malfunctions, Hedgie is the only one who can fit into the vehicle, and off he zooms. Bretts color illustrations are filled with humorous details, including eager reporters (an owl, a flamingo, a toucan, and a cockatoo, whose postures convey their avid impatience) and whimsical spaceships filled with comical alien tourists. Small groups can easily view the richly hued art, although many scenes merit closer inspection. Children will cheer for this intrepid hedgehog as he solves the problem of the plugged crater.–Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Hedgie the hedgehog loves heading the cleanup crew at Star Lab, but he longs to be an astronaut. The lab's scientists are concerned about Big Sparkler, an outer-space, volcano-like formation that has stopped emitting sparks that cause beautiful gardens to grow on its planet. When the lab's robot is damaged, Hedgie, who fits neatly into the lab's pint-size rocket, undertakes a mission to investigate. Ingenious Hedgie successfully restores Big Sparkler, which was damaged by space tourists. The setup is a bit clumsy, but, as usual, Brett's exquisite artwork will easily draw children's interest, particularly in scenes of underdog, child-size Hedgie soaring triumphantly through the beautifully imagined depths of outer space. One nagging question about the animal character groupings: Why are all the dogs scientists; the journalists birds; and Hedgie, the only hedgehog, an astronaut? Teachers may want to use this as a starting point for discussions of how humans impact the environment. For aspiring astronauts, pair this with Faith McNulty's fact-filled If You Decide to Go to the Moon (2005). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (September 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399246215
• ISBN-13: 978-0399246210
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan Brett is the author of the New York Times bestselling Gingerbread Friends, The Three Snow Bears, and The Mitten, as well as many other classics. She lives in Norwell, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy simply because it's Brett, January 9, 2010

By 

K. Hoehler (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hedgie Blasts Off! (Hardcover)

We love Jan Brett's books. I ordered this one without reading through it first simply because it was about Hedgie and it was by Brett. My 4 yr old son likes rocket and space stories, and my daughter learned all about Jan Brett in kindergarten (including the fact that she has a pet hedgehog!). This story, however, was just plain bizarre. It didn't make a lot of sense. I found myself editorializing as I read it to them. Don't get me wrong, we love silly, goofy, imaginative stories, but this wasn't even particularly fun. And unfortunately, the pictures weren't nearly as clever or detailed as her other works. Sorry. :(

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming Read!, December 29, 2006

By 

Amy Graham (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hedgie Blasts Off! (Hardcover)

Hedgie Blasts off is a cute book about Hedgie the hedgehog, whose greatest dream is becoming an Astronaut. Currently Hediei works on the clean-up crew for Star Lab (run by a dog Professor who is in charge of Outer Space no less). As we join the story The Professor is telling Hedgie to call in all the scientists, they've got a problem with the Big Sparkler and they MUST do something about it right away! The scientist work and work and build a Rescue Robot to send out to fix the problem...but come the day of the launch Rescue Robot seems to have probed too soon (winding up in the storage closet). It's up to Hedgie to save the day and travel out to the Big Sparkler and assess the problem. Will he be able to determine what's happened to make the Big Sparkler stop working? You'll have to read to find out!

Overall, this is a charming little story about never giving up on your dreams because they may come true in unexpected and unusual ways! This cute little tale is enhanced greatly by the vivid and colorful artwork that will give kids something extra to do...as it's so rich and full of detail that readers will want to pause and really get a good look at all the detail before moving on to the next page! I give it five stars, this is an excellent story book for young readers and would make a fine read aloud for ages 0-4 and an excellent beginner book for your budding reader (ages 4-6). Kids over age 6 will probably be enthralled by the art, but the story will probably not be of much interest to them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If We Can Send A Man To The Moon, We Can Send A Hedgehog To Mikkop, December 21, 2006

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hedgie Blasts Off! (Hardcover)

This book is intended for children up to about seven years old or so. It is the story of Hedgie, the first hedgehog to go into outer space. He is normally the caretaker of the Zeppadoppler rocket created by his boss, "The Professor," who is "in charge of outer space." It transpires that an underground seltzerwater vent ("The Big Sparkler") on the planet Mikkop frequented by alien tourists has ceased functioning and Hedgie is sent to unclog the vent in a rather novel way, after a brief fracas with the press corps (which appears to be composed of a toucan, a cockatoo, a flamingo, and an owl.)

The book is great for young kids, even though it is not especially educational about space or science, it still requires thought and could contribute to subsequent interest in these areas. The book is nicely made and I especially found the fold out page and glitter on the cover to be nice and captivating touches for young kids. The situations and characters are absorbing and the artwork is well done; I recommend this book for all future astronauts up through about third grade.