Aboard a tiny space ship, Hedgie flies to Mikkop to unclog the geyser, Big Sparkler--a huge alien tourist attraction--and returns home to the Star Lab a hero. - (Baker & Taylor)

When the spectacular, sparkling explosions at a popular tourist sight slow down, Hedgie the hedgehog is the only one capable of flying to tiny planet Mikkop to see what is wrong. - (Baker & Taylor)

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!

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

Booklist Reviews

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). ((Reviewed August 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Hedgie, a hedgehog cleanup crewman at Star Lab, gets his wish: he's chosen to be an astronaut (because he's the only one who can fit inside the rocket being sent to repair Big Sparkler on tiny planet Mikkop). Brett's fantasy is flimsy at best, and her engaging, detailed illustrations of animals immersed in space technology don't make up for it. Copyright 2007 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Fans of Brett's Hedgie will enjoy his predictable triumph in this lighthearted space adventure. Despite Brett's artistic ability, those unfamiliar with the small, spiky hero are likely to be less enthralled. This time around, Hedgie works as a janitor at a space lab populated by anthropomorphized dogs. When a volcano on a small planet named Mikkop ceases to function properly, the canine scientists create a "Rescue Robot," coincidentally shaped just like Hedgie. The robot's malfunction clears the way for Hedgie to achieve his heart's desire: a flight into space. He solves the problem of the volcano (visitors had been tossing coins into it for luck, plugging up the hole from which the magical flower-feeding "sparkles" erupted) and returns to earth. Although Brett includes a wealth of visual detail, much of it humorous, the slight story is unlikely to hold up to repeated readings. The use of a foldout page depicting a glittery eruption gives the book a gimmicky feel. Despite his obvious enthusiasm for space travel, this is not one of Hedgie's most successful outings. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus 2006 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Favorite characters and series come to the fore this fall. Hedgie Blasts Off! by Jan Brett brings back the star of Hedgie's Surprise, who here is an aspiring astronaut in charge of the cleaning crew at Star Lab. When Big Sparkler, a volcano and huge tourist attraction on the planet Mikkop, begins to lose its sparkle, it's up to Hedgie to save the day, and he triumphs in a glittery gatefold. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-Gr 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. Brett’s 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