The lovable canine hero Rocket adds counting to his list of talents in Tad Hills's second Step into Reading entry, after Drop It, Rocket!
To celebrate the 100th day of school, Rocket begins collecting "100 special things." He finds the perfect spot to keep them--in the hollow of a tree. "Or maybe not," says the text, as a squirrel pokes out of the hole, nose to nose with Rocket. Luckily, the squirrel is friendly. "You can keep your things here," says Bella. Hills shows the interior of the squirrel's spot, as Rocket peers through the opening. Mindful of building a beginning reader's skills, Hills repeats the sentence structure with a series of vignettes: "Rocket finds pencils./ He finds a book./ He finds acorns." The pup's followers will recognize his pals from previous adventures, including Mr. Barker, who helps collect heart-shaped stones, and Emma, Fred and Owl, who also assist Rocket. "He puts everything in the tree," including all 26 letters of the alphabet, which Rocket records on individual cards.
On the 100th day of school, Rocket tallies on a blackboard everything he'd placed in the tree. But wait! There are only 95 things! "Where are the acorns?" Rocket asks. The guilty party's confession is worth the price of admission. Not only does Rocket forgive her, he also comes up with a solution to reach a perfect 100. With a smidge of math and a lot of heart, this beginning reader is sure to please Rocket's fans and win him new ones. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness