The Spots and the Dots

A wonderfully spot-on story about two different races who have been fearful of each other for generations and learn through their children to accept and like each other just as they are. The Spots (red) and the Dots (blue) live on different sides of a tall mountain and from time immemorial they have told their children that something terrible will happen to them if they go over the mountain. The children do nothing but play games where their side wins great battles over the other side, and they are truly fearful of their foes. But one day the smallest baby Dot and the smallest baby Spot are found on the top of the mountain together, and when they discover that there is nothing to fear from each other, the news is soon spread to both communities that the generations of fearing and loathing have been without reason. Soon they are intermingling and enjoying each other as has never been possible before. The full joy of this book, though, is that it can be read from either end – one end having the Spots’ side of the story, and the other, that of the Dots. And, of course, they then meet in the middle. The illustrations are a joy too: lots of Dots and Spots bouncing around and seeing the other side in their minds as spiky, dangerous creatures. The rhymes in the text add to the fun, and children will enjoy the humour as well as the moral of the story. A real tour de force and great for school discussions.