The idea for Duck and Goose started with only a title-The Silly Goose, the Odd Duck and the Good Egg. His break out book, Duck and Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2006) was one of them. “I started with four stories,” says Hills.
When Lee moved to Random House to start her own imprint with long-time friend and associate, Ann Schwartz, she encouraged Hills to write his own picture books.
“Lee used to ask me to try illustrating some books she couldn’t find an illustrator for,” Hills says. But Hills’ break into children’s publishing coincided with his wife Lee’s new position as the art director for Simon and Schuster’s children’s book division.
He’s done some acting, made jewelry, makes fake teeth for stage productions, dabbled in interior renovation, and illustrated book jackets for adult trade books. “I liked making things,” he says.Īs a graduate of Skidmore College in New York with a degree in art, Hills describes himself as the ultimate freelancer. I spent a lot of time on my own making things, drawing, and painting.” Hills was not consciously trying to become an artist, rather his motives were innocent and pure. I would also use this book for teaching word choices through making a word tree just like Rocket did in the story.“Whenever I picture myself ,” says Tad Hills, “I am doing art. Ideas are not always going to come into your mind right away so it is important to brainstorm ideas until you have chosen the best one possible. It took Rocket a few days to finally decide his topic and this is what kids need to see. One important line in this book is when little yellow bird says “remember stories take time.” This is crucial for students to understand because fine writing is going to need to go through the writing process for the best product to be produced. The little yellow bird gets Rocket thinking about where his writing could start by asking him questions such as “what was something that happened to you? Or something you really enjoy? Or you could write about something that inspires you!” This shows students that if they start to generate answers to questions, their ideas for writing will flow easier. He states “I don’t know what to write.” Students today have difficulty deciding what topic to write about so they would be able to relate to Rocket. In the story, Rocket is staring blankly at a piece of paper because he is undecided on a topic that his story should be about. I would use this book as a mentor text to teach students how to brainstorm ideas. As he begins to write his teacher, the little yellow bird offers encouragement and asks questions to help Rocket add details to his writing.ĥ. He finds an inspiring topic for his story by using the world around him. Rocket sniffs out new words for his word tree, but he is having difficulty brainstorming ideas for his story. This story is about a dog named Rocket who loves books.
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