Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Dotty

by Erica S. Perl (Goodreads Author), Julia Denos (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 143 ratings · 49 reviews

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 f...more

Hardcover, 32 pages

Published August 1st 2010 by Harry N. Abrams

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Books for six-year-olds

69th out of 225 books — 96 voters

Children's Picture Books With Beautiful illustrations

239th out of 509 books — 487 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 231)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 10, 2012 Amy Musser rated it 5 of 5 stars

On Ida’s first day of school she brings her new lunchbox and Dotty, her (maybe imaginary) spotted friend. Ida is happy to learn that she’s not the only one in Ms. Raymond’s classroom who has brought a friend to school. Benny’s friend Spike has razor-sharp teeth. Katya’s chatty friend Keekoo swings from her braids. Max even has two friends, twins Pete and Repeat. That year everyone gets along, but when the students return in the fall Ida realizes she is the only one who still brings her friend to...more On Ida’s first day of school she brings her new lunchbox and Dotty, her (maybe imaginary) spotted friend. Ida is happy to learn that she’s not the only one in Ms. Raymond’s classroom who has brought a friend to school. Benny’s friend Spike has razor-sharp teeth. Katya’s chatty friend Keekoo swings from her braids. Max even has two friends, twins Pete and Repeat. That year everyone gets along, but when the students return in the fall Ida realizes she is the only one who still brings her friend to school. The other kids tease Ida for carrying the blue string that is Dotty’s leash and Dotty gets mad, knocking a girl to the ground. The girls have to write apology notes. Ida writes, “I am sorry abot what Dotty did but you desrvd it.” Ms. Raymond asks Ida to tell her about Dotty, but Ida has no words. So Ms. Raymond makes Ida promise to explain to Dotty how to behave at school and pulls out a piece of red string from her desk. Then she laughs and says, “Oh, I’m sorry. That one’s mine,” as she hands Ida her blue string. After that Ida knows everything is ok. So does Ms. Raymond, as she picks up the red string leash to lead her friend Gert home for the night.

The moral of the story is that it’s ok to be different or to grow at a different rate than your peers. Written in the third person, the text balances dialogue and narrative to create a smooth story. The dialogue and interactions between the children are believable. The illustrations are whimsical with loose, playful lines and bright colors. Brush ink and Photoshop were used to create the pictures, which feature detailed characters, in fun clothing, against a blurry background. The magic of the imaginary friends is in the illustrations and it is easy to see how they are manifestations of the personalities of their child. Denos also cleverly foreshadows Ms. Raymond’s friend with the black and yellow striped scarf she wears around her neck in the last few pages.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...(less)

like · see review

Jan 18, 2011 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books, juvenile-fiction, imaginary-friends, elementary-school, quirky, borrowed-from-the-library

Ida brings her imaginary friend/pet Dotty to school, where they meet her new classmates as well as their imaginary friends/pets. Everyone has something a little different, and occasionally they act up/out or misbehave and get their human friends into trouble. Dotty is large and bovine-esque with beautiful glittery red spots. One of the other friends is just a mad scribble with stick arms and legs (she can be kind of chatty). As the school year goes on, fewer and fewer kids bring their friends to...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 21, 2010 Tasha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books

Wherever Ida goes, Dotty goes too. Even on her first day of school, Dotty comes along: huge, horned and covered in red spots. Once Ida is at school, she realizes that many of the others in her class have brought their own imaginary friends too. But as the year goes on, the other children start to leave their imaginary friends behind. Ida though is still connected to Dotty, still carrying the blue string that ties them together. Eventually, the other children tease Ida about Dotty, even the child...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 07, 2010 Betsy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Seems to me that picture books get split into very particular genres pretty quickly. I actually keep lists of them on my computer at work, depending on how many requests I receive. There are the Bully picture books. The Dinosaur picture books. The People in Our Community picture books. And then there are two genres that sometimes get split up and sometimes merge together. These would be the Invisible Friend picture books and the Starting School picture books. Now you'll see a fair amount of brin...more Seems to me that picture books get split into very particular genres pretty quickly. I actually keep lists of them on my computer at work, depending on how many requests I receive. There are the Bully picture books. The Dinosaur picture books. The People in Our Community picture books. And then there are two genres that sometimes get split up and sometimes merge together. These would be the Invisible Friend picture books and the Starting School picture books. Now you'll see a fair amount of bringing your blankie to school picture books out there (Owen being the best example). And you'll see more than a few anxiety-ridden titles. Imaginary friends at school books are rarer, though you do see them occasionally (the Kevin Henkes title Jessica comes immediately to mind). Now with Dotty we've a title that takes two different ideas, combines them, and comes up with a way of showing that putting away childish things is a selective process.

On the first day of school Ida takes care to bring with her a new lunchbox, a pair of striped leggings, and her imaginary friend Dotty. Dotty resembles nothing so much as a benign combination of cow and toadstool. At school, Ida discovers that many of her classmates have similar companions. There are Max's twin sea serpents, Benny's razor-toothed R.O.U.S., and Katya's doodle-brought-to-life Keekoo. As the school year progresses, however, Ida discovers that more and more of her schoolmates have stopped bringing their friends to class. By the time spring comes around Ida is on the receiving end of the now worldly Katya's teasing and she reacts angrily. The two girls write "apology" notes, and then Ida has a discussion with her teacher Ms. Raymond. After promising that she'll explain to Dotty that pushing people is inappropriate, Ida spots a red leash belonging to her teacher, not dissimilar at all from Dotty's leash. It may well be that special friends are the kinds you keep with you always.

Essentially, in this book you're looking at the changes a kid goes through in the course of a single year of school. With that in mind, Perl's choices are pretty interesting. For example, Ida's friend Katya begins the book with a tiny imaginary friend that swings on her braids. Later she gets a haircut and keeps the creature in her pocket secretly. That haircut sort of marks a rite of passage for Katya. The growing out of imaginary friends is shown in different ways. I would have liked some clarification on what grade Ida was in, of course. This seems to be her first day of school ever, which would mean that this is Kindergarten. Still, these kids look older than Kindergarteners, and the pseudo-apologetic notes written near the end are more 1st or 2nd grade material.

Take note that the illustrations by Denos look patently simple but have details that the five-year-old inside of me appreciated. I liked that two out of three of Ida's lunchboxes featured images that are not always associated with girls in books (a dinosaur and outer space). In fact, you'll find that the image of Ida waking up on the title page shows drawn pictures of a dino on the wall and a toy dino and space rabbit (the third lunchbox displays a rabbit) sitting on the windowsill. I liked that Gert, Ms. Raymond's own invisible friend, actually appears early in the book in two scenes, hiding. I liked that Ms. Raymond's neck scarf matches Gert's furry coat, and that Ida is usually seen wearing dots or big round buttons to match Dotty. The publication page's explanation of the Denos technique is amusing, saying that "The illustrations in this book were made with brush ink and a bit of Photoshop here and there." Love that "a bit". An interesting choice of words.

The text was choice. At no point, I should note, are the words "imaginary friend" uttered in the course of the story. The story takes the creatures that come to the school for granted. I found myself wondering at what point the child readers would understand that Dotty was an imaginary friend. Later, would they recognize that Dotty hitting Katya was actually Ida hitting Katya? This may be giving kids too little credit, of course. It's entirely plausible that a kid reading this book is going to recognize that the reality of the situation (i.e. children bringing strange creatures to school) doesn't work and that therefore these must be imaginary friends. Still and all, I'd love to take a poll to see how many parents reading this book to their kids, stop and say clearly, "Now this is a book about an IMAGINARY FRIEND" for the "benefit" of their children's understanding versus those who just let the text stand for itself.

To a certain extent this book reminded me of Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School by Nathan Hale. The obvious difference, of course, is that while the monsters in this book are figments of the children's imaginations, in Yellowbelly they're all too real. The pairing of Perl and Denos comes off as particularly strong here. One can hope that they'll be put together on similar books in the future. Particularly if those books have the same mix of sweetness and wisdom as you'll find in the beloved Dotty. A charmer of a book.

For ages 4-8. (less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 15, 2010 Erica Perl rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Please get to know my good friend, Dotty!

I am of course biased because I wrote the book (Julia Denos drew the pictures so I can say and unbiased "WOW!" about them). Here's the scoop:

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 attendan...more

like · see review

Jun 29, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: imagination, about-school, 2012, picture, children-s

Ida takes her imaginary cow, Dotty, to school with her. But that's okay because Dotty gets along with all the other imaginary animals in Ms. Raymond's class. But as Ida's friends' imaginary animals move on, Ida is reluctant to let Dotty go. Finally, Dotty pushes (really, it's Ida) another girl for making fun of her. Ms. Raymond helps the girls accept responsibility for their actions while letting Ida know that it's okay for Dotty to stick around.

I'm a teacher and of course, I love a story in whi...more

like · see review

Sep 21, 2010 Mary Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1st, friendship, kindergarten, preschool, picture-books

I clearly remember one of my daughters talking about her imaginary friend, Juan. She was very matter of fact about Juan, and very certain about it. She was about 2 or 3, in her first year of preschool when friendships were just developing.

Do you remember that stage, when children start playing with their friends, not just side by side? But fast forward to kindergarten - how do all these imaginary friends make that transition? How can we make space for our children's imagination as they enter the...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 17, 2011 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books, favoriteillustrations

Loved this book about imaginary friends that never actually says the words "imaginary friends." Some you outgrow, some you push away, and some you have forever (when you get to the end, go back and look for Gert in some earlier scenes).

I thought perhaps this was the same illustrator as Ladybug Girl, but it's the similarly whimsical style of Julia Denos, who just illustrated Just Being Audrey. Charming, charming, charming.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 05, 2010 babyhippoface rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, kids-picture-books

Perl has pictured a little piece of childhood here, and she nails it solid. She shows us the inside of Ida's heart and mind as she struggles with the dilemma of staying faithful to her beloved Dotty or succumbing to peer pressure. The last page is a beautiful ending, as well, and encouraging to our little ones who cling to their beloved invisible friends.

My older daughter had an invisible friend named John Prancin that she sometimes met for meat and chips and cheese at our favorite Mexican resta...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 10, 2010 Reader rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-october-2010

Pretty sweet, I gotta say. Ida brings her imaginary friend Dotty to school and for the first few months this isn't a problem. The other kids really take to Dotty. Then as the school year progresses she begins to be left behind. Everyone else abandons their invisible friends, leaving Ida alone with just Dotty. When a fight breaks out in the playground over Dotty's existence, it's up to Ida's teacher to put things right and confess to a secret friend of her own. The story by Perl is sweet but it's...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2011 Terry added it

Shelves: z-2011-books, pb-fiction, prek-audience, read-aloud-books, z-2011-pb-challenge

This was a fun, engaging story. I loved that Ms. Raymond help Ida stay true to herself and didn't try to explain away imaginary friends. The illustrations are wonderful (I love Dotty in the snow) and help keep the story light. I also like how Ida looks older than a preschool student ... that will help kids see themselves as "mature."

To read our full review (complete with the kids' opinions!) go to The Reading Tub®.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 15, 2011 Jodi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books

At first this seems like a straight-forward book for kindergartners, but I’m not sure it is. As it goes on, the line between fantasy and reality gets very blurred, and while it is completely charming, might be confusing for the younger reader. I think 2nd-3rd might do better with it. Reminds me of Pinkalicious in that the heroine learns that to be oneself even when others say you are “babyish” is a great route to take. Loved the sparkly cover and the illustrations.

1 like · like · see review

May 02, 2013 Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: multi-cultural, picture-books

I liked most that this picture book had multi-cultural faces; especially the teacher. I liked that the teacher is an African-American woman to a classroom that includes mulit-colored faces. I also liked that the stories humor and it's tales of imaginary pets. The ending was pretty clever. How the teacher makes Ida feel better about being the only one in class who still has her imaginary pet is great.

like · see review

Apr 05, 2011 Ngoc Dang rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-literature

This book shows children that it is okay to have imagination. The characters have their imaginary pets and they bring them to school. This book also teaches about loyalty because near the end of the school year other kids didn't bring their imaginary pets to school or just leave them in their pockets. The main character still bring her friend to school despite being making fun of. They are true friends.

like · see review

Feb 18, 2011 Jess Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-lit, imaginary-friends, friends, growing, early-elementary, elementary

Dotty explores one child's relationship with an imaginary friend, especially as other children out-grow theirs. I got a little confused in the end, because the teacher has one, too, which puzzled me as to what Dotty really was. It's nice that this book embraces the imaginary friend, but I think that it could have handled the growing up part of it all a bit better.

like · see review

Aug 22, 2010 Donalyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ncbla-committee-2011-books, primary-picture-books

Ida loves her imaginary friend, Dotty, but when her friends begin to outgrow their invisible playmates, Ida is torn about whether or not to let Dotty go. After Ms. Raymond, Ida's beloved teacher, shares a secret, Ida makes her decision. A delightful story about the importance of fantasy and imagination.

1 like · like · see review

Apr 19, 2012 Helen Kumpel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anti-bullying, diversity, emotions, introduction, predicting, unique-qualities

This book is for: Prek-K
Reflection:
This book is a great book to read about diversity. This book specifically talks about having imaginary friends, which is common in young children. It touches on teasing others for being different and the emotions that go along with it.

like · see review

Sep 07, 2011 Lorna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011bookaday, picturebooks

We enjoyed this book a lot as Ida ventures to school with her imaginary friend Dotty. She is happily relieved that some of her classmates have such friends too, but that soon changes and Ida begins to doubt herself. A charming ending and lovely bright illustrations. Would make for a great read aloud to a K-2 class.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 27, 2010 Marcie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Marcie by: Woodbury new books

I can see pairing this with Kevin Henkes Jessica. It is a cute book about children's imaginary friends, but I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. The glitter on the cover illustration may draw many Kindergarten Kids to it.

like · see review

May 25, 2012 kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s, picture-book

A great book dealing with going to school and imaginary friends.

Who may not be so imaginary.

Would definitely use for a kindergarten storytime.

like · see review

Aug 31, 2011 Colby Sharp rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: character, narrative, picture-book, theme, setting

Listen to author Erica Perl read this book aloud on Mr. Schu's blog:
http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2011/...

1 like · like · see review

Jan 04, 2011 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really like this story of imaginary friends and what happens when children outgrow them...or maybe not.

like · see review

Nov 22, 2010 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-2011-challenge

It was a cute sorry of personalities . . . but I am not sure how well most students would understand it.

like · see review

Nov 29, 2010 Casey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great handling of imaginary friends and the places they hold in our childhoods-- and beyond.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 25, 2013 Raychel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star-books, read-in-2013

Sweet story about imaginary friends. Julia Denos' illustrations are, as always, perfect!

like · see review

Aug 18, 2012 Relyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Relyn by: spotted at the library

This book was fun to look at and imaginatively illustrated, if a bit predictable.

like · see review

Sep 13, 2011 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cute book for anyone who ever had an imaginary friend or an awesome teacher.

like · see review

Apr 09, 2013 Chandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books

A unique and surprising picture book. Love the illustrations!!

1 like · like · see review

Aug 08, 2011 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Clever illustrations bump this to a 4.5.
A sweet, engaging story.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 25, 2010 Shelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books

Cute story of an imaginary friend, and growing up.

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

Childrens > Picture Books

32 users

Childrens

7 users

Childrens > Storytime

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

A Bedtime for Bear
by Bonny Becker
April and Esme Tooth Fairies
by Bob Graham
A Balloon for Isabel
by Deborah Underwood
A Pet for Petunia
by Paul Schmid
Spork
by Kyo Maclear

About Erica S. Perl

An accomplished and versatile writer, Erica S. Perl wears many hats literally and figuratively. Her new middle grade novel, WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU O.J., is "a must read for all 8-12 year olds" (modernjewishmom.com).

She is also the author of several picture books, including DOTTY, which was called "Perfect! Perfect! Perfect!" by www.planetesme.com, CHICKEN BUTT!, illustrated by Henry Cole - "an utter...more

More about Erica S. Perl...

Books by Erica S. Perl

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Dotty

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Dotty
avg rating	preview: Dotty Goodreads rating: 3.95 (143 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8130616-dotty?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328813200l/8130616.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8130616-dotty?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Dotty by Erica S. Perl[/url]

Dotty

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Erica S. Perl

Books by Erica S. Perl

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Dotty

new topic
Discuss This Book