The Rocket Book

Newell, Peter, 1862-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 7.3K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Rocket Book by Peter NewellAuthor: Newell, Peter, 1862-1924,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 19, 2005

Editor's review

The Rocket Book is a classic English children's picture book by Peter Newell (1862–1924), now released as an e-book by Project Gutenberg. Newell was known for making clever use of the physical space of the book to create surprising visual gags. This book follows a rocket as it travels through an apartment building, causing chaos and delight floor by floor, with ingenious compositions and a brisk pace. As a public-domain children's title, its value lies not only in the story itself but in showing how early picture books made page-turning part of the narrative—useful for understanding the traditions of children's literature and illustration. The English text is simple and the pictures carry the story, making it suitable for parent-child reading and early English learning, as well as for illustrators and children's book researchers. The e-book format makes it easy to zoom in on visual details on screen; it can be read in ten minutes on a commute or before bed—a light but memorable classic.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Parents looking for short picture books for early English learning
Readers studying early children's picture books and visual narrative
Learners with basic English who want to start with illustrated texts
General readers who enjoy classic public-domain children's books for light reading

Not a good fit for

Learners needing a systematic English textbook or graded course
Adult readers who prefer long prose narratives and have little interest in picture books
Users expecting modern multimedia interactive e-books

Reading tips

Look at the pictures first and guess the plot, then read the English text and use the images to understand the words.
When reading with a child, pause on each page and let them predict what the rocket will do on the next floor.
Zoom in on the illustrations on an electronic device and notice how the pictures work with the text.
After reading, have the child retell the story in their own words to practice simple English.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What age is this book suitable for?

The English text is short and the story is told mainly through pictures, so it suits preschool to early primary school children; the right age still depends on the child's English level and reading habits, and reading with a parent is best.

Can I read this book if my English is not good?

Yes. The plot is driven by the pictures and there is not much text. When you meet a new word, try to infer its meaning from the illustration first, then check a dictionary—it works well as an illustrated starter text.

What should I keep in mind when reading the e-book?

The details in the illustrations are where the fun lies. Use a larger screen and zoom in as needed; avoid reading on a very small phone and missing the clever touches in the pictures.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Newell, Peter, 1862-1924 Author · American · 1862–1924

Peter Newell (1862–1924) was an American illustrator and children's author. Public information about him is limited, and his life story is little known to Chinese readers, yet his surviving works reveal a distinctive ingenuity in combining pictures and text. His representative books, The Rocket Book and The Slant Book, are known for their inventive page design and lively, humorous illustrations, often using page turns and slanted formats to create surprise and fun so that the story unfolds through the act of reading. They show an illustrator keenly aware of the book as a physical object. Balancing children's playful instincts with humor that adults can also enjoy, his work is regarded as an early example of picture books that value formal innovation and has inspired later interactive and novelty books for children. Two of his works are held in this collection.