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How Rocket Learned to Read

Part of Rocket

Author Tad Hills
Illustrated by Tad Hills
Look inside
Best Seller
Hardcover
$18.99 US
9.81"W x 10.87"H x 0.39"D   (24.9 x 27.6 x 1.0 cm) | 17 oz (488 g) | 24 per carton
On sale Jul 27, 2010 | 40 Pages | 9780375858994
Age 3-7 years | Preschool - 2
Reading Level: Lexile AD600L | Fountas & Pinnell L
Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt
Children will love learning to read with this New York Times-bestselling picture book, starring an irresistible dog named Rocket and his teacher, a little yellow bird. Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read all on his own!

Don’t miss the animated movie based on the bestselling Rocket books--now airing on PBS!

With a story that makes reading fun—and will even help listeners learn to read—this book is ideal for kindergarten classrooms and story hour or as a gift for that beginning reader.

Tad Hills, the creator of the beloved Duck & Goose series delivers another heartwarming story, filled with fresh, charming art making this a favorite for story time. 

Discover the next book in the series-- the instant #1 New York Times Bestseller, Rocket Writes a Story.
  • WINNER
    Irma Simonton Black Award
  • WINNER | 2011
    IRA Teachers' Choices
  • WINNER | 2011
    Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
  • WINNER | 2010
    Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best books
  • WINNER | 2010
    New York Times Bestseller
  • WINNER | 2010
    Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book
  • WINNER | 2010
    Publishers Weekly Bestsellers
  • NOMINEE
    Virginia Young Readers Program Award
  • FINALIST
    IRA Children's Choices
  • FINALIST
    CBC Awards & Honors
  • FINALIST
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    IRA Children's Choices
  • NOMINEE
    South Carolina Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Nebraska Golden Sower Award
  • NOMINEE
    Irma Simonton Black Award
  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • FINALIST
    Virginia Young Readers Program Award
A New York Times bestseller

A 2010 Parents’ Choice Silver Award

An Autumn 2010 Children’s Indie Next Pick


Review, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES:
"A perfect picture book for kids 3-7."

Review, THE BOSTON GLOBE:
"A picture book all about the joys of reading could easily turn preachy and dull. But “How Rocket Learned to Read’’ defies gravity. Rocket is lovable, the little feathered teacher adorable. Hills tells his sprightly story as needed, not one word more or less. His pictures flow with soft color and movement. Hills makes this a story of friendship. It may persuade tentative kindergarteners that school is worth a try; teachers and librarians will love it."

Review, KIRKUS REVIEWS:
"Hills’s gentle, sweet tale is a paean to the joy of reading and the teachers that inspire it."

Review, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
"With characters as memorable as those in Hills’s Duck and Goose series, this good-natured story shows readers how Rocket, a spotted puppy, becomes a beginning reader, thanks to a little yellow bird."

Review, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:
"Youngsters will find this addition to Hills’s cast of adorable animal characters simply irresistible."
Tad Hills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the Rocket and Duck & Goose series, including the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read; Rocket Writes a Story; R Is for Rocket; Duck & Goose; Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Go to the Beach; and Duck & Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo! He also created various board books in these series, including Rocket’s Mighty Words; Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin; the ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book What’s Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites; Duck & Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny!; and several Step Into Reading titles, including Drop It, Rocket! and Rocket’s 100th Day of School.
 
The Boston Globe declared Hills’s work “charming, funny, simple, and surprising” and dubbed him “a master of the light comic touch.”
 
Tad lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, two children, and his real-life dog, Rocket, who has not yet learned to read.
 
Visit Tad online at tadhills.com, and follow him on Twitter at @tadhills. View titles by Tad Hills
Available for sale exclusive:
•     Canada
•     Guam
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     North Mariana
•     Philippines
•     Puerto Rico
•     Samoa,American
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:
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•     Algeria
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•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Cape Verde
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominican Rep.
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•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
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•     Germany
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guatemala
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
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•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Israel
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•     Lebanon
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•     Maldives
•     Mali
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•     Mauritania
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Morocco
•     Myanmar
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     Saint Martin
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     St Barthelemy
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen

Not available for sale:
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Australia
•     Bahamas
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belize
•     Bermuda
•     Botswana
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Cayman Islands
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Cyprus
•     Dominica
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Fiji
•     Gambia
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Grenada
•     Guernsey
•     Guyana
•     India
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Jamaica
•     Jersey
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Lesotho
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Malta
•     Mauritius
•     Montserrat
•     Mozambique
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     New Zealand
•     Nigeria
•     Pakistan
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     Sri Lanka
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     Swaziland
•     Tanzania
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     Uganda
•     United Kingdom
•     Vanuatu
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

Educator Guide for How Rocket Learned to Read

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Classroom Activities for How Rocket Learned to Read

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

Children will love learning to read with this New York Times-bestselling picture book, starring an irresistible dog named Rocket and his teacher, a little yellow bird. Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read all on his own!

Don’t miss the animated movie based on the bestselling Rocket books--now airing on PBS!

With a story that makes reading fun—and will even help listeners learn to read—this book is ideal for kindergarten classrooms and story hour or as a gift for that beginning reader.

Tad Hills, the creator of the beloved Duck & Goose series delivers another heartwarming story, filled with fresh, charming art making this a favorite for story time. 

Discover the next book in the series-- the instant #1 New York Times Bestseller, Rocket Writes a Story.

Awards

  • WINNER
    Irma Simonton Black Award
  • WINNER | 2011
    IRA Teachers' Choices
  • WINNER | 2011
    Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
  • WINNER | 2010
    Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best books
  • WINNER | 2010
    New York Times Bestseller
  • WINNER | 2010
    Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book
  • WINNER | 2010
    Publishers Weekly Bestsellers
  • NOMINEE
    Virginia Young Readers Program Award
  • FINALIST
    IRA Children's Choices
  • FINALIST
    CBC Awards & Honors
  • FINALIST
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    IRA Children's Choices
  • NOMINEE
    South Carolina Children's Book Award
  • NOMINEE
    Nebraska Golden Sower Award
  • NOMINEE
    Irma Simonton Black Award
  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
  • FINALIST
    Virginia Young Readers Program Award

Praise

A New York Times bestseller

A 2010 Parents’ Choice Silver Award

An Autumn 2010 Children’s Indie Next Pick


Review, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES:
"A perfect picture book for kids 3-7."

Review, THE BOSTON GLOBE:
"A picture book all about the joys of reading could easily turn preachy and dull. But “How Rocket Learned to Read’’ defies gravity. Rocket is lovable, the little feathered teacher adorable. Hills tells his sprightly story as needed, not one word more or less. His pictures flow with soft color and movement. Hills makes this a story of friendship. It may persuade tentative kindergarteners that school is worth a try; teachers and librarians will love it."

Review, KIRKUS REVIEWS:
"Hills’s gentle, sweet tale is a paean to the joy of reading and the teachers that inspire it."

Review, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
"With characters as memorable as those in Hills’s Duck and Goose series, this good-natured story shows readers how Rocket, a spotted puppy, becomes a beginning reader, thanks to a little yellow bird."

Review, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:
"Youngsters will find this addition to Hills’s cast of adorable animal characters simply irresistible."

Author

Tad Hills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the Rocket and Duck & Goose series, including the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read; Rocket Writes a Story; R Is for Rocket; Duck & Goose; Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Go to the Beach; and Duck & Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo! He also created various board books in these series, including Rocket’s Mighty Words; Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin; the ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book What’s Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites; Duck & Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny!; and several Step Into Reading titles, including Drop It, Rocket! and Rocket’s 100th Day of School.
 
The Boston Globe declared Hills’s work “charming, funny, simple, and surprising” and dubbed him “a master of the light comic touch.”
 
Tad lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, two children, and his real-life dog, Rocket, who has not yet learned to read.
 
Visit Tad online at tadhills.com, and follow him on Twitter at @tadhills. View titles by Tad Hills

Rights

Available for sale exclusive:
•     Canada
•     Guam
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     North Mariana
•     Philippines
•     Puerto Rico
•     Samoa,American
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahrain
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Benin
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Cape Verde
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Faroe Islands
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guatemala
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Japan
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Morocco
•     Myanmar
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     Saint Martin
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     St Barthelemy
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen

Not available for sale:
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Australia
•     Bahamas
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belize
•     Bermuda
•     Botswana
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Cayman Islands
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Cyprus
•     Dominica
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Fiji
•     Gambia
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Grenada
•     Guernsey
•     Guyana
•     India
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Jamaica
•     Jersey
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Lesotho
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Malta
•     Mauritius
•     Montserrat
•     Mozambique
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     New Zealand
•     Nigeria
•     Pakistan
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     Sri Lanka
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     Swaziland
•     Tanzania
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     Uganda
•     United Kingdom
•     Vanuatu
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

Guides

Educator Guide for How Rocket Learned to Read

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Classroom Activities for How Rocket Learned to Read

Classroom activities supplement discussion and traditional lessons with group projects and creative tasks. Can be used in pre-existing units and lessons, or as stand-alone.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)