Dot Hardcover – Picture Book, August 30, 2011

I love this book and look forward to "reading" it with my grandchildren. There is so much a child can learn in this book with the simple graphics. Yes, it is clever, but it is full of content too. It's a wonderful tool to learn basic concepts that are so important for young children.

My two year old daughter is enthralled by this book, it has really made an impression on her. The images seem very simple but they really get her talking and making connections. From an adult perspective it is understated and tempting to just overlook but I'm really happy with it and so is she.

I am not a designer, artist, author or anything of the sort, but I am a father of small children and my wife and I are very picky about the content of the books our children look at and read. At least one reviewer commented that this book can be put together by almost anyone, but I see a distinction in the simplicity I see in this book and a simplemindedness that perhaps this reviewer sees. In my experience, simplicity can be a very powerful tool in that by the very constraints it uses (constraints that purposely limit content in order to avoid being overly complex), it can be a powerful way to promote creativity, inviting the reader (or viewer) to participate in the story. Many books, cartoons, and art elicit nothing from the child except consent--consent to what has already been clearly defined by the detailed pictures and graphics. But simplicity calls something forth from the child. For instance, one two page spread in this book has a large black dot on each opposing page. The dots are the same except that the one on the left has a small red dot in the upper right, and the dot on the right has a brown patch (shaped like a Band-Aid) over that same area. The captions read: “Hurt dot” for the one on the left, and “Heal dot” for the other. My four year old, who cannot read, looked at the one with the red dot, and then at the other, and said, “Oh, it has an owie!” Through the use of simple colors and shapes, a child can actually feel something that isn’t necessarily clearly defined by complex graphics or art. I personally think this book does a fairly good job of that, but at the same time doesn’t fall into the trap of abstract art. It uses familiar shapes and colors that already have meaning for us. So the shapes aren’t just circles, teardrops, etc, but they convey meaning through their relationships to other elements of the pictures, such as other shapes, color, placement on the page, etc. If you are interested in how shapes, colors, and the general composition of pictures make us feel certain things, I recommend a book by Molly Bang called “Picture this: How Pictures Work”.I also agree that the bleed through from pages does affect the book. The lighter shadows give the impression that there is something that is part of a particular page, but it is actually a bleed through from the other side. It does take away from otherwise effective graphics and text.

Dot, Patricia Intriago's first book, is the latest in a long line of books that do what the children's books do best: facilitate the elementary learning between a child and the person who is the child's first teacher - a parent. Intriago's book helps set forth a foundation for future learning and thought development as the pages serve as a potential springboard for playful discussion between parent and child on other contrasting examples of "Dots" from their own world that are not featured in the book.Purchase the book and use it to begin interactive and fun educational moments with your child. A child's successful appreciation of education begins at home by engaging them in the wonder of learning, thinking and imagination. I believe Dot by Patricia Intriago is the first step on that wonderous road.

With it's bold, clean graphics and generous use of white space, my initial reaction was this is a keeper. On my second look through I found that I was distracted by the images on the back of each page showing through the thin paper, almost like a shadow. I have not show this to my son (4), but I know it is the kind of thing he will focus on and question.As far as the content goes, I'm not sure who the target audience is... 0-2? 3-6? I'm sure the high contrast images will appeal to babies, but there are several black and white board books out there that are better match. Is there enough to keep a preschooler's interest? Maybe, but I think it's too much graphics and too little whimsy.

My 4 month old daughter loves this book. She looks at the pictures and laughs out loud. It has great contrast which is perfect for her at this age. An additional benefit is that she can use this book as an early reader when she gets older. Would recommend.

I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it appears to have been written by a graphics designer who, one day pondering children's books, thought, "hey, I could do that!" It is an insult to hard working children's authors and illustrators. The graphics can be put together by anyone with a computer, no talent or imagination required. Then throw together some simple text about happy dot and sad dot (blah, blah, blah) and call it a day! There are so many great children's books out there, it would be a shame to waste money on this one.

+ For not knowing what the book was going to be about, it was pretty good. I enjoyed the appropriately contrasting depictions of the simplistic and clever artwork.- I would've rated it 5 stars if I didn't have some concerns that the target age group would understand some of the images in relation to the words describing it. I just think a 3y/o would have trouble grasping the how the caption depicts the dot. As an adult I liked it but, would a kid get it and enjoy it? We'll have to see.- Also for the money and the target age group of 3 and up I would have like to see thicker, more tear resistant pages.