Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin

By Tad Hills

Audiobook Download

Published on Sep 15, 2026 | 0 Hours 4 Minutes

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Paperback

Published on Jul 14, 2020 | 32 Pages

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Ebook

Published on Jul 14, 2020 | 32 Pages

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Hardcover

Published on Jul 14, 2020 | 32 Pages

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Grades Preschool – 1
Ages 4–6

Kids are learning to read with Rocket! Rocket, the star of Tad Hills’s New York Times bestselling picture books, returns in a new Level 1 Step into Reading story, this time about the joy of being kind.

Don’t miss the animated movie based on the bestselling Rocket books—now airing on PBS!

It’s a beautiful day at the pumpkin patch! There, Rocket and Bella find the perfect pumpkin. But as the friends try to take the pumpkin home, it rolls downhill and lands in front of Mr. Barker’s doghouse. Can Rocket and Bella get their pumpkin back? With its simple words, lots of repetition, and bright, colorful illustrations, young readers will love this Step 1 Step into Reading leveled reader about being generous, which they can read all by themselves!

Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words. Rhymes and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story. Perfect for early readers of Rocket the Brave and Drop it, Rocket! and children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading.

Discover more easy-to-read fun with Rocket’s Very Fine Day!

Praise for How Rocket Learned to Read
“Defies gravity. Rocket is lovable.” —The Boston Globe
“A perfect picture book for kids three to seven.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“Tad Hills celebrates the joy of learning, as well as the power of a good teacher to change lives.” —The Seattle Times

Praise for Rocket Writes a Story
“Empower[s] young children to engage their fertile imaginations.” —The New York Times
*“A perfect choice to inspire new readers and writers.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

ISBN 9798217515509 (Audiobook Download)
Published on Sep 15, 2026
Published by Listening Library
Age Range 4-6 years
Grade Preschool - 1
Reading Level Lexile: AD390L | Fountas/Pinnell: G

ISBN 9780593177853 (Paperback)
Published on Jul 14, 2020
Published by Step into Reading
Pages 32
Dimensions 6 x 9
Age Range 4-6 years
Grade Preschool - 1
Reading Level Lexile: AD390L | Fountas/Pinnell: G

ISBN 9780593177877 (Ebook)
Published on Jul 14, 2020
Published by Step into Reading
Pages 32
Age Range 4-6 years
Grade Preschool - 1
Reading Level Lexile: AD390L | Fountas/Pinnell: G

ISBN 9780593177884 (Hardcover)
Published on Jul 14, 2020
Published by Random House Studio
Pages 32
Dimensions 6 x 9
Age Range 4-6 years
Grade Preschool - 1
Reading Level Lexile: AD390L | Fountas/Pinnell: G

Tad Hills

Tad Hills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the Rocket and Duck & Goose series, including the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read; Rocket Writes a Story; R Is for Rocket; Duck & Goose; Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Go to the Beach; and Duck & Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo! He also created various board books in these series, including Rocket’s Mighty Words; Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin; the ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book What’s Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites; Duck & Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny!; and several Step Into Reading titles, including Drop It, Rocket! and Rocket’s 100th Day of School.

The Boston Globe declared Hills’s work “charming, funny, simple, and surprising” and dubbed him “a master of the light comic touch.”

Tad lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, two children, and his real-life dog, Rocket, who has not yet learned to read.

Visit Tad online at tadhills.com, and follow him on Twitter at @tadhills.