Who doesn't love polka dots? I can't be alone in finding that dotted fabrics, walls, boots, and BOOKS make me smile. Artists like Yayoi Kusama have made polka dots their signature motif, reviewed HERE. A recent board book offering is a delightfully appealing introduction to polka dots and other patterns for the youngest audiences, but is equally appealing to this NOT youngest reader!
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| POPW! Kids Books, 2023 |
DOT, DOT, POLKA DOT is a colorful, sturdy board book written and illustrated by graphic designer Morissa Rubin. She explores, page turn by turn, familiar and global/cultural patterns of nature and fabrics with lively text, bold images, and an edge accumulation of swatches that foreshadows a gratifying ending. The opening/title turn that features dots is followed by efficient and enticing text and image-rich examples of stripes, plaid, calico, argyle, kente cloth, kawung fruit, gingham, uroko triangles, paisleys, molas, and tie-dyes.
This is a feast for the eyes and ears, sparking curiosity and providing vocabulary to recognize and label the many patterns that are human-made as well as identifying those in our lived environment. There are just enough hints within the minimal text to suggest ways that little (or bigger) hands might make patterns using stamps, bits, even collage techniques to make this a must-have addition for those teaching/leading art and craft groups of any age.
Each pattern is represented by a small square fabric swatch, which caught my eye immediately, since I'm a lifelong fan of quilts. (This is evident in prior posts celebrating quilts HERE, HERE, and HERE.))These swatches accumulate along one edge of each double spread, reminding me of ways in which quilters scatter, shift, and adjust their layouts, savoring the interactions of color and pattern with an eye to making the whole greater than the sum of the parts. "Separate pieces come together" is the next-to-last turn in which thread begins to attach one swatch to the next on a background featuring many of the patterns introduced. The final spread celebrates them all when the line-drawn character is tucked under a patchwork quilt, topped by a snuggling calico cat, with polka-dotted boots and hat safely stowed nearby.
I particularly appreciated the global/cultural inclusion and celebration of patterns, as well as the richly robust vocabulary. This book is likely to find fans throughout the day and at bedtime, providing young ears with repetitive familiarity and context for words to describe their own worlds. While many board books are worthy sources for developing language and concepts related to color and shape, this is a rich source that embeds endless opportunities for such language. it's a treasure chest of entertainment and development for families, libraries, early childhood groups, and those seeking support for English language learning and/or speech/language development. It is even a great choice for dedicated (or beginning) quilters who could well display it as a table-top book of sorts or share with younger family members. Other ideas? Please share them in comments. It has been a while since I lost myself for hours in the fabric aisles, but this book just might lead me back there soon!
(Side note: Board books can be glorious yet constructed in such a way that they are soon damaged by the little hands that clutch them. POW Books seems aware of this and produced a durable physical book that should survive many readings and explorations, which this book invites.)
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher with no promise of a review.
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