Day 68: How Rocket Learned to Read

Meet Rocket:  a cute, cuddly, black and white dog who loves chasing leaves and napping under his favorite tree.  As he settles in for a good nap one day, a little bird lands on a branch nearby and declares herself to be his teacher.  He tries to argue that he is only there to sleep, but the persistent bird continues, encouraging Rocket to be her student.  He ignores her at first, but he soon finds himself drawn in to the story she is reading aloud about a dog who has lost his favorite bone.  Soon enough, Rocket is returning to the bird's classroom by the tree every morning, hoping to learn to read for himself.  Together, Rocket and the little yellow bird sing out the sounds that letters make and piece them together, from the GRRRRRRRR of Mr. Barker's growl to the WHHOOSSHHHH of the wind.  Then, it's on to words that describe the world around them, such as the R-E-D leaves and the cool, crisp weather of F-A-L-L.  As the seasons turn, the little bird flies away for the winter, leaving her star student to keep spelling and reading on his own until she returns.  "Don't forget!" she reminds him.  "Words are built one letter at a time!"  Rocket practices all winter, anxiously waiting for the return of spring and his teacher so that they may read together once more.  How Rocket Learned to Read is a perfect book for any child who is venturing into the glorious world of reading independently.  I just love the way Tad Hills brings Rocket and the adventure of reading to life:  letter by letter, sound by sound, one word at a time.   I love the way he engages Rocket with a story for the first time, going from uninterested, to curious, to captivated.  I love how he realistically depicts learning to read as a journey that takes time, not something that one can learn to do overnight.  And I love little details about the book, like Rocket's expressive face and the fact that the alphabet is described as wondrous, mighty, and gorgeous.  My son just adores this book, too.  He loves the cute little dog, of course, and definitely shares Rocket's curiosity about letters and reading.  My son spells out words everywhere we go and asks what they spell -- in the store, in the car, with his foam letter in the bathtub -- and just loves spelling along with Rocket as we read.  (He was so excited to know the name E-M-M-A the first time we read this.)  He loves little things about this book, too, like the fact that a lilac bush is mentioned in the story.  Every time we smell lilacs outside, he smiles and exclaims, "Lilacs!  Just like in Rocket!"  We have a great, interactive version of this book on our ipad, as well.  How Rocket Learned to Read is a fabulous story that we are bound to read again and A-G-A-I-N.