I must admit that I get a little bit star struck by authors. I am so amazed by their talent and the worlds they create in their minds. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to meet Suzanne Collins, the author of the wildly fantastic Hunger Games and instead of the thousands of questions I wanted to ask her, I broke into hives and thanked her for coming. That was it. Opportunity wasted.

Next week, I will again have a chance to meet an author. This time I will have my questions prepared and maybe even written down for Tad Hills the creator of the adorable Duck and Goose and now Rocket of How Rocket Learned to Read.

In this tale, Rocket stumbles upon a bird eager to teach. At first Rocket insists that all he wants to do is nap but through the wonder of reading aloud, the yellow bird shows Rocket the magic of books. As the bird flies south for the winter she calls to Rocket, “Don’t forget! Words are built one letter at a time!” After a winter of work, Rocket is able to read with the yellow bird when she returns in springtime. How Rocket Learns to Read is a book with such an important message joined with a lovable character and delightful illustrations.

For those readers who live in Bergen County, please come join me and meet Tad Hills at Books, Bytes and Beyond on Wednesday, September 29 at 4pm. Please click through to their website to learn all about registering for this fun event. See you there!