Lots of Dots

Whimsical dots, dots for licking, dots for snacking and even dots on shirts. In every color and size dots make up many of the things in the world around us. There are dots everywhere, if only you know where to look.

In the recent past there have been numerous books based on how we interact with common things in our environment such as shapes and colors. Dots have been a popular choice as of late, but it’s obvious why. Children love them! We’ve reviewed Dot by Patricia Intriago, now Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier and soon we’ll be posting our review for Press Here by Hervé Tullet. Each has been a huge hit with the kiddos, but my two year old daughter especially is attached to Lots of Dots. In one day in the recent past I can count at least a dozen times we read it in a single sitting, she loves it that much. The bright colors and situations are undoubtedly a huge draw for her, though she certainly appreciates interacting with pages like the “heavy” page.

Bright colors, situations and plenty of dots have children excited to discover just where the next dot will pop up in Lots of Dots by Craig Fraizer. With situations and places that involve the most common of places such as our shirts, a garden and in the stars children find that they only have to look around from where they sit to discover more dots. My daughter loves this picture book with a fervor I’ve rarely seen. Much of this has to do with a certain color, but the variety and interaction she finds within it’s pages are also something she looks forward to regularly. Lots of Dots is a creative story that children will not only enjoy reading, but will learn to incorporate into their lives and the world around them.

My original review was posted at There's A Book. ( )

This is a great book for younger children learning their shapes and even colors. The book would be great to read in class and have the students point out the dots, circles and spheres that are around in the classroom. ( )

This is a cute, colorful book filled with round objects. It is light on text, with one line per page so it would be great for preschoolers. In rhyming couplets, it shows many ordinary things around us that are round. I think this would be great for a program with a craft using circles. With the plain white backgrounds and large colorful illustrations, the book is very eye-catching as well. I like this book a lot and can see me using it in a preschool program. ( )

Some dots are big.
Some dots are small.
Some dots float
and some dots fall.

Which make "Lots of Dots" lots of fun!

I have to say that I really like this book and it's great fun to read to kids. The simple drawings and bright colors are really eye-catching and the text makes for a good read-aloud.

The basic concept is to point out to children the round shapes around them. How, for example, a dot can be HUGE, like a drum, or small, like the tiny spots on a ladybug. Craig Fraizier shows them that plus more, like how snacks can be dots (peas), and how "There are dots on shirts" and "dots for the sun"!

THE SKINNY:::
I love books like "Lots of Dots" because I love to share books with children that I feel don't just have one thing to offer. In the case of "Lots of Dots" it has great rhyming text and artwork that is humorous as well as thought provoking.

I don't often suggest purchasing books for babies and toddlers because they outgrow concepts books so quickly, but I'm going to suggest you consider this one for your home shelves. The reason is that there is some versatility here. You can read the story and ask older babies and toddlers where the dots are -- most are obvious, some are not -- and you can use the book to teach both colors and the names of objects, as well as simple counting.

Remember too to ask older children to fill-in-the-blank in the rhymes. This is both a good memory exercise and pre-reading practice.

Pam T~
mom/blogger/dot lover
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