School Library Journal (Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

K-Gr 2 Rocket's engaging personality shines through once again in this beginning reader. Just as in the original picture books, the pup's adventures focus on his positive dealings with his animal companions and, of course, his insatiable enthusiasm for learning. This story revolves around the traditional school celebration of the 100th Day. Like many kindergarten and first-grade students, Rocket is collecting assorted objects to equal the important number. On the big day, however, he discovers that Bella, a squirrel, has eaten five acorns. Ingeniously, Rocket settles on a plan to make up for the shortfall. He and his four pals will become part of the collection, bringing the count to 99, and adding their new friend Bella will equal 100. Sweet and satisfying, this story has suitably spare text and pictures that ooze with charm. Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

ALA Booklist

In the fifth book about Rocket, we discover him searching for 100 things for the one hundredth day of school. He gets help from five friends, including Bella the squirrel, who allows him to store his treasures in her nest. Some of the unusual objects that Rocket and his friends obtain for his stash include heart-shaped stones, sticks in numerical numbers, alphabet letters that Rocket makes himself, as well as words he writes. When the one hundredth day arrives, Rocket adds up the number of items in his stash and finds it five items short. What happened to the five acorns? Rocket's quick and flexible solution provides a satisfying end to a charming early reader. The simple text uses short sentences, repetition, and illustrations that support the emerging reader when more difficult words are introduced. Pair this with 100th Day Worries, by Margery Cuyler, and Emily's First 100 Days of School, by Rosemary Wells (both 2000).

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Sweet dog Rocket returns, along with a cast of softly sold cuties. Rocket and his bird friend search for new words for their word tree (Drop It); Rocket selects "100 special things" for the hundredth day of school--but squirrel Bella can't resist eating a few items (100th Day). Hills's charming colored-pencil and acrylic-paint illustrations pair nicely with the absorbing easy-to-read texts.