Dotty

by Erica S. Perl, Julia Denos

Overview

It’s Ida’s first day of school. She carries her new lunch box and a long, blue string with her special friend Dotty attached to it. A big, colorfully spotted pal with horns, Dotty just happens to be invisible. On that first day of school, Ida and Dotty find out there are plenty of other imaginary friends in attendance. But as the year passes and fewer and fewer imaginary friends come to class, Ida begins to wonder if Dotty is welcome at school anymore . . .

Perceptive and warmly funny, with charming art from exciting illustrator Julia Denos, Dotty is a celebration of the power of friendship and imagination.

"Denos’ colorful, stylish, mixed-media illustrations emphasize the sweetness, discovery, and common worries that come with leaving home and entering the wide world of school for the first time. An appealing story that merits repeat visits." —Booklist

"Denos's paintings are an unadulterated delight." —Publishers Weekly

"A charmer." —Kirkus Reviews

"This enjoyable tale of maturing at one’s own pace and on one’s own terms will resonate with children and parents alike." —School Library Journal

"This picture book will help young students overcome their nervousness and realize that everyone needs a friend. It would be a wonderful opening day read-aloud." —Library Media Connection

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613124444
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Erica S. Perl is the author of Chicken Bedtime Is Really Early and Chicken Butt! She lives in Washington, D.C. Visit her online at www.ericaperl.com.

Julia Denos studied illustration at the Art Institute of Boston and has published several acclaimed books for young readers. She lives in Quincy, Massachusetts. Visit her online at www.juliadenos.com.

Editorial Reviews

When Ida starts school in the fall, she's just one of many kids in Ms. Raymond's class who comes with an imaginary friend in tow. But by springtime, only Ida's Dotty--a huge, horned, spotted bovine creature--is left; everyone else has moved on. "You don't still HAVE her, do you?" asks Katya, flaunting her newfound maturity (this is the same Katya who at one time had a imaginary spiderlike creature named Keekoo that liked swinging on her braids). Perl's (Chicken Butt!) brisk, reportorial prose allows her to be sympathetic to her holdout heroine without over-romanticizing her or discounting the progress of her peers. Denos's (My Little Girl) paintings are an unadulterated delight, combining the naïf styling of scribbly children's drawings for the creatures and the easy, playful elegance of pattern book illustrations from the 1950s. But the ending, which reveals that the pretty, poised Ms. Raymond still has an imaginary friend of her own, may divide readers struggling with their own maturation. Does that make her cool--or a case of arrested development? Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1—When Ida starts school, she brings along her invisible friend, as do many of her peers. Each one embodies some aspect of the child it has bonded with. In Ida's case, it's her anger. As winter flows into spring, Ida realizes that she is the only child still bringing her special friend to school. When Katya teases her about Dotty, Ida (Dotty) shoves her and gets into trouble. Staying after school, Ida discovers that her teacher also has an invisible friend she still brings to school. Denos's illustrations subtly show the characters and the seasons changing, and the pressures of growing up. The text is best suited for one-on-one reading as the pictures have hidden nuggets of information for those who look carefully. This enjoyable tale of maturing at one's own pace and on one's own terms will resonate with children and parents alike.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

School Library Journal