R Is for Rocket

June 8, 2015
Having explored reading and writing in his first two picture books, Rocket the dog heads up a tour of the alphabet, starring a handful of his animal friends and featuring abundant alliteration. Hills creates sweet, gentle scenes for each letter, introducing moments of light humor (Bella the squirrel “plays in the ivy. It’s not a good idea. It makes her itch”), while touching on emotions like joy, kindness, and fear (“The waves are noisy. They make Owl nervous”). Bold type highlights the repeated letters, and Hills’s oil paint and pencil illustrations exude a quiet, soothing soulfulness throughout. Ages 3–7.

May 1, 2015
Adorable Rocket the dog and his many pals (including a moonlighting Goose) return in a new story centered on the alphabet. Each alphabetic scene illustrates action in a complete sentence or two that emphasizes alliteration. The key letter in each scenario is represented in boldface type, and many sentences include both upper- and lowercase examples. It begins: "Rocket finds acorns. Owl draws an angry alligator. / Bella balances on a ball while a big blue butterfly watches." Some letter choices work better than others. Q is fairly successful: "It is quiet, and Owl is cozy under her quilt. She falls asleep quickly." On the other hand, Hills defaults to the old chestnut for tricky X: "Bella plays the xylophone." Overall, this is charming fun, and readers have come to know and love Hills' oil-and-colored-pencil characters. While each individual scene is entertaining, however, and many incorporate multiple letters, there is no apparent unifying storyline that takes readers from A to Z. One tiny nit is that owls don't sleep lying down, as depicted, but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment. The back of the jacket cover is an attractive alphabet chart. Though this lacks the originality and fizz of How Rocket Learned to Read (2010), it nevertheless reinforces the pup's positive literacy efforts. (Picture book. 3-5)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 1-Rocket the dog and Goose, from the "Duck & Goose" series (Random), both appear in Hills's latest picture book. As they play outside with their friends Bella the squirrel and Owl, they encounter a variety of animals whose activities are described in sentences that use alliteration. ("Rocket rests by the river in the rain./Bella sits on a stump. 'I'm glad I have this sock, ' she says") Every page is given its own letter, and those letters are written in bold text when they appear at the beginning of a word. The humor is subtle; the situations playful. ("Fred frolics with fireflies in the field"; "Owl jumps for joy").The oil paint and colored-pencil illustrations include full pages and spreads, and large spot art. A cheery alphabet chart appears on the reverse side of the cover. VERDICT An endearing introduction to the alphabet.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.