The Spots and the Dots
by Helen Baugh & Marion Deuchars

This is a very clever book which features two stories – the first one you read traditionally from the front cover, then you flip the book over to read the second story from the back cover. The two stories meet in the middle which makes for a very smart twist.

The Spots are little red dots who live at the bottom of a very steep hill. They live in little tent-like pods and they love to bounce around and have fun. However the Spots live in fear of the terrible Dots who are rumoured to live on the other side of the hill. From when they are babies, the Spots are taught by their parents that they must never go up to the top of the hill because the terrible Dots will take them away. The story is passed down through generations of Spots and the children play games of Spot vs Dot where they always come out on top.

Flip the book over and we see another little community, telling a story which is somewhat familiar…

The Dots are little blue spots who live at the bottom of a very steep hill. They live in little tent-like pods and they love to bounce around and have fun. However the Dots live in fear of the terrible Spots who are rumoured to live on the other side of the hill. From when they are babies, the Dots are taught by their parents that they must never go up to the top of the hill because the terrible Spots will take them away. The story is passed down through generations of Dots and the children play games of Dot vs Spot where they always come out on top.

So what happens when a curious baby Spot and a curious baby Dot climb the hill and come face to face with each other?

I absolutely love the concept of this book. The story is short and the illustrations are simple but it packs a huge punch. It teaches children about the danger of prejudice and that we should never fear people or things just because they appear different. Question opinions, question sources and always, always trust your own judgement.

Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent bookshops: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/155/9781783449248

Buy from Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/32sAbzJ

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