Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ages: 4 – 8 years
I just love simple books with a powerful message that I can sneak into my kids’ brains and remind them of it later.
The Dot is one of those books!
In a book about trying something that one has never done before, The Dot gives a big thumbs up of encouragement to budding artists.
We do a lot of drawing and painting in our house and I plan to reference this book at a later date when they get stuck and tell me they’re not good at drawing something.
The Dot is a simple story with a powerful message, enticing anyone who reads it to just make a mark and follow where it takes them.
Vashti sits on her chair. Art class is over and her paper is blank.
‘’Ah! A polar bear in a snow storm,’’ her teacher jokes.
Vashti claims she just can’t draw but her teacher tells her to make a mark and see where it takes her.
Vashti gives the paper a stubborn jab with a marker, making a single dot. Her teacher asks her to sign it.
The next week, Vashti is surprised to see her dot framed, and hanging above the teacher’s desk.
She decides she can make a better dot than that …. And she does!
My favorite parts are when she makes a dot by not making a dot and when she experiments mixing colors to make lots of little dots.
She makes that single dot so much better, that her many dots make quite a splash at the art show at few weeks later.
A little boy gazes up at her and says, ‘’You’re a really great artist. I wish I could draw.’’
Do you know what Vashti does? She encourages him to make a mark and sign it ….
Author and Illustrator, Peter H Reynolds says ‘’The Dot is about getting started – getting unstuck. It is also about creative teaching, exploring an idea in many ways, and sharing our gifts with others.’’
This simple book with free-spirited illustrations is a simple story with a powerful message, enticing anyone who reads it to just make a mark and follow where it takes them. The Dot is a fantastic book that helps children see the possibilities in their own talents.
