FICTION

The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, The Big Ways We’re the Same

by Linsey Davis (text) & illus. by Lucy Fleming
Zonderkidz. Jan. 2023. 32p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780310748809.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3–With a message celebrating our differences and our sameness, this title for young readers starts with a dot. Each dot represents a gene. Readers are told that we are all made of billions and billions of tiny gene dots. One of these billions is your special dot. It makes each person unique. “The rest of the billions of dots we discussed/ Are exactly the same inside each of us.” Our uniqueness and our sameness are highlighted in a multitude of ways through the text and inviting illustrations including a diverse cast of children. The message of this text, that genetically we are 99.9 percent the same, is critical for children to know in a world that seemingly seeks to divide, categorize, and “other” people.
VERDICT Useful for multiple lessons from science to socialemotional learning, this title simultaneously encourages readers to find and celebrate that which makes them unique while identifying the similarities that unite us all in a common human family.
Reviewed by John Scott , Jan 01, 2023

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