In this terrific follow-up to How Rocket Learned to Read, Hills delivers another gently humorous story about mastering a skill and making a friend.
At first, Rocket was a dog who loved to play. ("He loved to chase leaves and chew sticks.") In this new adventure, Rocket is a dog who loves to read. He has also become a word collector. He brings back to his teacher, the little yellow bird, words like "buttercup," "bug" and "feather." A double-page spread depicts a "nest" that sits very high in a pine tree.
The book brims with teachable moments: Rocket writes down words such as "leaf," "bush" and "dog" (nouns), while the bird adds other words that may well launch a parts-of-speech discussions (e.g., "for," "by" and "the"). Rocket's nose leads him repeatedly back to that tree with the nest, and its scent of pine and feathers--and the nest dweller, who introduces herself as "Owl." But a subject does not a story make. Writers young and old will recognize Rocket's plight: "He looked down at the blank page and the blank page looked up at him. But no story would come."
Just as Rocket's wish for more of his teacher's story about Buster ("the lucky dog") leads him to read, here as Rocket reads his drafts to the owl, she asks, "Then what happened?", providing more fodder for his story as a friendship blossoms. Once again, Hills delivers a double dose of smart tips on learning while also illustrating how to be a good friend. More please! --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness