Blog Entry #1: The Dot

The Dot

Written and Illustrated by: Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press, 2003
32 pages

Realistic Fiction

I chose to do this book because we were able to use one book read aloud in class as our first entry, and this one really spoke to me. Creativity is often under-encouraged by no fault other than time, and this book allows the encouragement of creativity along with various possible uses in the classroom. In this story, a young girl is sitting disgruntled in art class after everyone else has left. Her teacher comes over and praises her work (a blank sheet of paper). The student gawks at her teacher's response to simply "Do something, anything. Now sign it". The next day the student sees her single dot framed behind her teacher's desk. She says, "Hey I can do better than that!" and proceeds to let her creativity fly. She draws all kinds of dots and at the end has an exhibition of her work. A younger student comes up to her in awe and states his desire to be as great an artist as she. She encourages him to draw something, anything, and then sign it. 

The illustrations in this story are water color and use bright splashes of color to express the main character's emotion throughout the text. For example, when she is mad at the beginning, red is used. They are simplistic and cartoon-like in style using minimalist details to focus one's attention on key aspects relating to the story. The illustrator also uses negative space to focus the eye on specific details. 

         This would be great for first and second graders when paired either with a character building lesson of self-confidence or a lesson encouraging creative writing. The teacher could encourage students to "just write something, anything" to demonstrate that once you start, it's easier to do it, just like the little girl in the story. It could also be used during a math lesson to identify shapes. This book has won the following awards: The Christopher Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, Chicago Public Library Best Books for Children and Teens, Babyzone Amazing Book Awards 2003, Book Links Editor's Best of 2003, and Chapman Awards for Best Classroom Read-Alouds. 

Activities and ideas from the Peter H. Reynolds website.