How Rocket Learned to Read

How Rocket Learned to Read is written and illustrated by Tad Hills and is a New York Times bestselling picture book.

This book was such fun to read and had a fabulous use of vocabulary, particularly the adjectives.  Reading the story reminded me of a few things in my life that I could make a connection to the text.  The yellow bird that outwits the dog was a reminder of sometimes how a teacher must first attract a student, especially a reluctant one, to a given topic before it can be taught.  The way Rocket went around spelling things was another connection I could make.  It reminded me of the time I was learning how to read.  I would walk around speling things the same way Rocket did, and I can remember loving the way the word "something" sounded when it was spelled.  S-O-M-E-T-H-I-N-G was a word that I would practice all the time, and I even made a song out of it.  Its underlying message really spoke to me.  In learning something new, you definitely have to walk before you can run.

Hills, T. (2010). How Rocket learned to read . New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.