The Dot Review by: Ayisha Hernandez

The Dot (Picture Book)

Reynolds, Peter. (2003). The Dot. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Vashti doesn’t believe in herself. She doesn’t believe she can draw, but her teacher has so much faith in Vashti. Vashti’s teacher encourages Vashti to draw a picture and to make her teacher happy, she draw a dot. Then her teacher asks her to sign the picture. The next day Vashti comes to art class she sees her dot in a gold frame. She is so proud and challenges herself to draw even better dots.

Peter H. Reynolds does a wonderful job with expressing the emotions of the characters in the illustrations. The story is told from the perspective of a narrator but the way it is written almost puts the reader in Vashti’s shoes. The message of The Dot is one that so many students need these days. Reynold’s story encourages students and children to do their best, work hard, and persevere to help them reach their goals.

This story can be used with grades up to about 4th or 5th grades. The book has a great growth mindset message. The teacher encourages the student, Vashti, to do her best and to try. With a little encouragement and commendation, Vashti is engaged and eager to do better and better. I would use this story to help encourage my students to always do his/her best. This story would be a great way to start discussion and writing around the idea of not being good at something YET. I would recommend this story to students aged First Grade to about Third Grade.