Review by Booklist Review
Cute doggie Rocket and the little yellow bird who teaches him are looking for words to add to their word tree. Rocket finds a leaf, a hat, and a star, and upon the command to Drop it, Rocket, the good boy drops the item, which then becomes a word upon their tree. The internal rhyme of the repeated phrase Drop it, Rocket establishes a pleasing cadence. But then Rocket finds a red boot, and he does not want to drop it. The bird and Rocket's friends try to entice him to relinquish the boot by offering other items in exchange. Owl finally comes up with a winner: a book. Rocket drops the boot, and the friends settle down around him to read. The final image is the word tree with brand new words on it, which the reader will have become familiar with during the course of the story. Children familiar with Rocket from his picture-book adventures will be happy to see him at the early reader level, ready to take this linguistic journey with them.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-In this easy reader, Rocket and the little yellow bird love to collect words for their word tree. Rocket is good at collecting (and dropping) things to add to their tree, until he meets a boot he doesn't want to let go of. He is offered a stick, a ball, and a sock until Bird discovers what he'd like more than a boot-a book! After Rocket lets go of the boot, everyone settles down to enjoy the new book. The last page shows their word tree with all the new words on it-inspiration for a word tree of one's own? Rocket would like that. Simple, cartoon illustrations take children through the story and clearly show the plot. A good addition for emerging reader collections.-Melisa Bailey, Harford County Library System, MD (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The irresistible, black-and-white puppy named Rocket moves into the early-reader market following his wildly successful picture-book learning experiences, How Rocket Learned to Read (2010) and Rocket Writes a Story (2012), and a board book, Rocket's Mighty Words (2013). This title, part of the Step into Reading series, sports a circular logo on the front with Rocket and his friend and mentor, a yellow bird, appealing to Rocket's established fan base. In this simple story for children who are just beginning to read a few words on their own, Rocket finds several items and is told repeatedly by the yellow bird and other friends to "Drop it, Rocket." The pup obeys until he finds a red boot, which he wants to keep. The stereotypical wise owl brings in a book as bait, solving the minor problem. Basic words are written on cards and added to a "word tree" at the beginning and ending, an obvious reading lesson that is also a perfect complement to Rocket's earlier picture books. Perhaps due to the severely limited vocabulary imposed by the form, this story is less whimsical than Rocket's earlier outings, but thanks to that limited vocabulary, it should become a go-to book for adults working with children just venturing into independent reading.Rocket's fans should enjoy this book geared directly to children who, like their hero, are tackling the hard work of reading. (Early reader. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
