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Spot
I Want to Be Somebody New!
Spot, the chameleon-like leopard star of Put Me in the Zoo, is through with life in the zoo. And with changing his spots, too. Now he’s into changing his shape, and he wants to be somebody new! But as Spot soon discovers, it’s not easy being as big as an elephant or as tall as a giraffe or as small as a mouse. In fact, sometimes it’s easiest just being yourself, as he— and young readers—learn in this cheerful, rhyming Beginner Book about self-acceptance.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1986
44 people are currently reading
1912 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lopshire
33 books28 followersRobert Lopshire wrote and illustrated the Beginner Books Put Me in the Zoo, I Want to Be Somebody New!, and New Tracks I Can Do! He died in 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
September 20, 2015
OK, I know that this is a book that is supposed to be about liking yourself for who you are, and your friends liking you for who you are, but that is not the message that is actually being conveyed here. In fact the book really conveyed the opposite message.
The book begins with Spot's so-called friends telling him/her (the book does not convey gender for Spot) and that she must move from the zoo to the circus - so much for acceptance. Deciding she is unhappy where she is in life, Spot decides to make some changes. For example, by changing into an elephant. Spot's so-called friends' response? Acceptance? No. I quote:
"you're very big, you're very fat. We do not care for you like that"
The story continues along this vein with the so-called friends criticizing Spot's every change and every move.
This is NOT a book about acceptance, rather it is one of an individual trying to improve herself and her life, trying out new ways of being that might lead to growth. Instead of the so-called friends supporting Spot's efforts to grow and change, the two children work hard to stifle Spot's efforts and keep her in the same place the the children demanded that she be in in the first place. Rather than accepting Spot for who she is at a particular time in her life, the children work very had to undermine Spot's efforts to grow and change. Rather than honouring and supporting Spot's self-exploration, the children put in a concerted effort to push Spot back into the role that they need and want her to have, and, indeed, at the start of the story the role that they insisted Spot take on.
No, this is not a story of acceptance and self-acceptance. It is one of co-dependency and the sabotage that abusers inflict on those who are working to have a better life.
What a terrible message for a children's book.
The book begins with Spot's so-called friends telling him/her (the book does not convey gender for Spot) and that she must move from the zoo to the circus - so much for acceptance. Deciding she is unhappy where she is in life, Spot decides to make some changes. For example, by changing into an elephant. Spot's so-called friends' response? Acceptance? No. I quote:
"you're very big, you're very fat. We do not care for you like that"
The story continues along this vein with the so-called friends criticizing Spot's every change and every move.
This is NOT a book about acceptance, rather it is one of an individual trying to improve herself and her life, trying out new ways of being that might lead to growth. Instead of the so-called friends supporting Spot's efforts to grow and change, the two children work hard to stifle Spot's efforts and keep her in the same place the the children demanded that she be in in the first place. Rather than accepting Spot for who she is at a particular time in her life, the children work very had to undermine Spot's efforts to grow and change. Rather than honouring and supporting Spot's self-exploration, the children put in a concerted effort to push Spot back into the role that they need and want her to have, and, indeed, at the start of the story the role that they insisted Spot take on.
No, this is not a story of acceptance and self-acceptance. It is one of co-dependency and the sabotage that abusers inflict on those who are working to have a better life.
What a terrible message for a children's book.
March 27, 2024
It fascinates me which books are favorites for different children. For my grandson, it's been The Three Little Pigs* for weeks now. For my granddaughter, this is the first book she has let me read more than once and today I read it to her five times! "Again!" she kept saying.
What is it about this book? Is it wanting to change? Imagining what it would be like to go from a dog (or is it a bear?) named Spot, to an elephant, to a giraffe to a mouse? Or is it about learning that your friends like you to be yourself? Or something else altogether? Who knows! She is just 2 with the attention span of her age yet likes this book enough to want to listen to it over and over. It has a cute little rhyme and does show that we are best just being ourselves! Good message.
Five stars for you, my little Rose-bud! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ And my heart! 💕
*"AND THE BIG BAD WOLF!" he will add emphatically whenever I say the title, i.e., don't forget the MOST IMPORTANT person in the story!
What is it about this book? Is it wanting to change? Imagining what it would be like to go from a dog (or is it a bear?) named Spot, to an elephant, to a giraffe to a mouse? Or is it about learning that your friends like you to be yourself? Or something else altogether? Who knows! She is just 2 with the attention span of her age yet likes this book enough to want to listen to it over and over. It has a cute little rhyme and does show that we are best just being ourselves! Good message.
Five stars for you, my little Rose-bud! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ And my heart! 💕
*"AND THE BIG BAD WOLF!" he will add emphatically whenever I say the title, i.e., don't forget the MOST IMPORTANT person in the story!
February 8, 2010
I love Put Me In The Zoo, so I picked this up used without really reading it through. Well, it's a dollar I'm never getting back...!
Spot, who is better off in the circus than the zoo (seriously, read the original, because it rocks) is bored with being himself, so he decides to play around and change shapes. Will he be an elephant? A giraffe? A mouse?
We already know the ending - he's going to find out that his own shape is best. The only thing now is to find out WHY his own shape is best.
Well, it's not best because he can do things in that shape, or because other people are familiar with it, or because it's just a nice shape to be in, or even because he has opposable thumbs. It's best because elephants are too fat to go on see-saws, because birds nest in giraffe's ears (???) and because people put out traps to catch mice. Oh, and because his juvenile friends are judgmental brats who don't love their friend for who he is and support him in this crisis but tell him "We don't like you like that" every time.
Sheesh. I'm not sure if I even want to give this one away, but I guess it'll be less of a pain in a full classroom of books where each kid reads it about once or twice instead of over and over again.
Spot, who is better off in the circus than the zoo (seriously, read the original, because it rocks) is bored with being himself, so he decides to play around and change shapes. Will he be an elephant? A giraffe? A mouse?
We already know the ending - he's going to find out that his own shape is best. The only thing now is to find out WHY his own shape is best.
Well, it's not best because he can do things in that shape, or because other people are familiar with it, or because it's just a nice shape to be in, or even because he has opposable thumbs. It's best because elephants are too fat to go on see-saws, because birds nest in giraffe's ears (???) and because people put out traps to catch mice. Oh, and because his juvenile friends are judgmental brats who don't love their friend for who he is and support him in this crisis but tell him "We don't like you like that" every time.
Sheesh. I'm not sure if I even want to give this one away, but I guess it'll be less of a pain in a full classroom of books where each kid reads it about once or twice instead of over and over again.
February 3, 2020
My library has a bunch of the Cat In The Hat I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books to give away next month for Dr. Seuss's birthday. I haven't read them all so I read this one thinking it would be a good message. Not so much.
The animal in the book thinks he/she wants to change so it changes into an elephant, giraffe, and a mouse. But the two little kids don't like it. You can't be too fat, too tall, or too small. What kind of message does that give to kids. People are not all the same size and shape.
I love Dr. Seuss books and some of the other authors that publish under his Cat In The Hat series. My favorite when I was young was Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman. Hop On Pop, and Ten Apples Up On Top were favorites of my kids.
The animal in the book thinks he/she wants to change so it changes into an elephant, giraffe, and a mouse. But the two little kids don't like it. You can't be too fat, too tall, or too small. What kind of message does that give to kids. People are not all the same size and shape.
I love Dr. Seuss books and some of the other authors that publish under his Cat In The Hat series. My favorite when I was young was Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman. Hop On Pop, and Ten Apples Up On Top were favorites of my kids.
February 27, 2019
DO NOT read this book to your children. The messages are awful—in a nutshell, it teaches impressionable young minds that it's not good to be "fat" or "tall" or "small." Yes, the ending may be a good one—"it's great to be yourself!"—but even that is tainted by the message of you should be who others want you to be. With all the inspiring, empowering books out there for kids, there is no reason for this one to exist.
November 28, 2018
BOO THIS BOOK. BOOOO!
What could be a good message about loving yourself as you are is wrapped in a crap covered packaging. What judgmental and rude children! Blegh.
What could be a good message about loving yourself as you are is wrapped in a crap covered packaging. What judgmental and rude children! Blegh.
December 10, 2020
Featured in a grandma reads session.
Robert Lopshire was ever a favorite of mine. And dots? Who doesn't love dots? My group needed one more picture book to start our reading session, and this one popped up as available. Finding out just exactly is your "style" . . . whether you are trying to be like your besties, or whether you are confident in your own unique sense of what works. . .well we are all at that effort for our entire lives to some larger or lesser extent, right? My brother? Boots . . . his whole life. He could wear anything else, but without boots the ensemble was never complete. My sister? there must be a scarf, shawl, silk drapery woven in and out and around her upper regions. . . . So our main character in this book is feeling out dots, their placement and color.
My group loved the larger message - he's loved by his besties no matter how he looks.
Robert Lopshire was ever a favorite of mine. And dots? Who doesn't love dots? My group needed one more picture book to start our reading session, and this one popped up as available. Finding out just exactly is your "style" . . . whether you are trying to be like your besties, or whether you are confident in your own unique sense of what works. . .well we are all at that effort for our entire lives to some larger or lesser extent, right? My brother? Boots . . . his whole life. He could wear anything else, but without boots the ensemble was never complete. My sister? there must be a scarf, shawl, silk drapery woven in and out and around her upper regions. . . . So our main character in this book is feeling out dots, their placement and color.
My group loved the larger message - he's loved by his besties no matter how he looks.
November 28, 2018
This came through inter-library loan - I can't see that I ordered it (I didn't) - and after reading it confirm that I wouldn't have ordered it. The two children not liking each iteration of the change seems to telegraph an unwanted message along with the main theme of "be yourself" - kind of a "Here's hoping you don't change because we'll like less what you change to than you dislike yourself now." Icck!
July 5, 2011
Rhyming was fun and the message that one is liked best when being themselves was great. But times are different and "You are very big. You are very fat. We do not care for you like that." isn't PC.
Like anything, parents need to review what is best for their child since some will know that's not ok, others need to avoid temptation.
Like anything, parents need to review what is best for their child since some will know that's not ok, others need to avoid temptation.
April 1, 2020
7/20/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
4/28/18 Read with Julia.
2/26/20 Read with Julia
3/30/20 Read with Julia #covidreader
4/28/18 Read with Julia.
2/26/20 Read with Julia
3/30/20 Read with Julia #covidreader
September 25, 2016
I like the message in this book "you're better when you're yourself."
BUT
I know the book isn't trying to say this, but it makes it seem like it's a bad being tall, small, and fat..
Just me? Ok.
BUT
I know the book isn't trying to say this, but it makes it seem like it's a bad being tall, small, and fat..
Just me? Ok.
January 25, 2021
Cute book about being happy with yourself. Some of the language isn’t great though...
Read for the first time in the year:
January 24, 2021
Read for the first time in the year:
January 24, 2021
June 7, 2021
This is a very classic book at this point, at least in my opinion. I loved this book as a young child and often found myself rereading it. I hadn't read it in at least a decade when I picked it back up. It was listed as a beginner book, and I wanted to see if it stood the test of time.
Obviously, it centers around a typical rhyme scheme, which I always like and I feel like children like as well. However, at the risk of being judged or called too sensitive, I will say I didn't realize how many descriptors like big and fat were used. Now, these aren't necessarily negative words, but as a child who was bullied a lot for being "bigger," and then a teen who grew up having an awful time with eating disorders, it did make me uncomfortable. I think when we use these words, we can open a gateway to harsher words being used on peers and not just in silly kids' books. words need to employed with intention, and I saw a lack of that in this book. Particularly when the kids in the book point at their friend as an elephant and call him big and fat and say, "We do not care for you like that." It is just the subtle things like saying you don't like someone when they're fatter that can linger in a child's mind. Then he changes into a giraffe, and the kids say being that tall can't be any fun. Obviously, a human would never be as tall as a giraffe, but I was 5'7" by 5th grade, and guess which fun nickname people began using to bully me :) If you guessed giraffe you'd be right. Now, this isn't super upsetting to me, but I am being nitpicky and playing the devil's advocate to further prove my point of lack of intention behind words.
A big premise of the book is that the main character is no longer happy as himself so he changes into all these different creatures, a mouse, a giraffe, and an elephant. The point of the kids saying how they dislike him each time he changes is because they liked him best when he was himself, which for me does redeem this a fair bit, hence the 3 stars. It is a well-meaning lesson, but I just am not a huge fan of how it was executed. He concludes it feels the best to be himself, but what happens when a kid undergoes physical changes? Not because they chose to, but for a plethora of reasons. Rapid growth, food insecurity at home, hormone imbalances, medical issues, etc. "We liked you better before you changed," can be a very damaging sentiment. So again, I loved this book as a kid, but I don't see myself recommending this to my students or reading it in class unless it is to make a point about how we are still us no matter how we look and how changes don't have to be bad or scary. Different can be good.
Obviously, it centers around a typical rhyme scheme, which I always like and I feel like children like as well. However, at the risk of being judged or called too sensitive, I will say I didn't realize how many descriptors like big and fat were used. Now, these aren't necessarily negative words, but as a child who was bullied a lot for being "bigger," and then a teen who grew up having an awful time with eating disorders, it did make me uncomfortable. I think when we use these words, we can open a gateway to harsher words being used on peers and not just in silly kids' books. words need to employed with intention, and I saw a lack of that in this book. Particularly when the kids in the book point at their friend as an elephant and call him big and fat and say, "We do not care for you like that." It is just the subtle things like saying you don't like someone when they're fatter that can linger in a child's mind. Then he changes into a giraffe, and the kids say being that tall can't be any fun. Obviously, a human would never be as tall as a giraffe, but I was 5'7" by 5th grade, and guess which fun nickname people began using to bully me :) If you guessed giraffe you'd be right. Now, this isn't super upsetting to me, but I am being nitpicky and playing the devil's advocate to further prove my point of lack of intention behind words.
A big premise of the book is that the main character is no longer happy as himself so he changes into all these different creatures, a mouse, a giraffe, and an elephant. The point of the kids saying how they dislike him each time he changes is because they liked him best when he was himself, which for me does redeem this a fair bit, hence the 3 stars. It is a well-meaning lesson, but I just am not a huge fan of how it was executed. He concludes it feels the best to be himself, but what happens when a kid undergoes physical changes? Not because they chose to, but for a plethora of reasons. Rapid growth, food insecurity at home, hormone imbalances, medical issues, etc. "We liked you better before you changed," can be a very damaging sentiment. So again, I loved this book as a kid, but I don't see myself recommending this to my students or reading it in class unless it is to make a point about how we are still us no matter how we look and how changes don't have to be bad or scary. Different can be good.
May 9, 2020
The intended message is: you are perfect the way you are.
The accidental message: You are perfect the way you are, so long as you aren’t overweight, tall, or small. Here are a few especially painful lines that are in the book:
“You cannot sit in your old chair. Your new rear end won’t fit in there. You’re very big. You’re very fat. We do not care for you like that.”
And
“We did not like you fat or tall, and now you know what’s wrong with small.”
This book was published in 1986, long before we started worrying about being PC. I don’t like the idea of banning books, but I think this book has had its day. There are far, far better things to read to a child about self-acceptance.
The accidental message: You are perfect the way you are, so long as you aren’t overweight, tall, or small. Here are a few especially painful lines that are in the book:
“You cannot sit in your old chair. Your new rear end won’t fit in there. You’re very big. You’re very fat. We do not care for you like that.”
And
“We did not like you fat or tall, and now you know what’s wrong with small.”
This book was published in 1986, long before we started worrying about being PC. I don’t like the idea of banning books, but I think this book has had its day. There are far, far better things to read to a child about self-acceptance.
May 6, 2018
Spot, the main character in “Put Me in the Zoo” returns for a brand new adventure in this Beginning Reader tale. Using his magic, Spot experiences different personas as he becomes animals that are big, tall, and small before learning that it really is good to simply be himself.
The lively story, told in a simple rhyme and with bright illustrations, is sure to appeal to young readers,
Recommended.
The lively story, told in a simple rhyme and with bright illustrations, is sure to appeal to young readers,
Recommended.
June 29, 2019
This beginning reader book from the Cat in the Hat “I can Read It All By Myself” series has been on our shelf for years. I finally read it at bedtime tonight and my daughter was quite happy they read it at her daycare before.
I liked it. Some words/phrases like you often find in Seuss style books are awkward rhythms, but very repetitious. In the end, when spot wants to be someone new, they like him just as he was. Quite. Good ending.
I liked it. Some words/phrases like you often find in Seuss style books are awkward rhythms, but very repetitious. In the end, when spot wants to be someone new, they like him just as he was. Quite. Good ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2020
An imitation of the Cat in the Hat. A cat-like or maybe dog-like creature befriends two kids, presumably siblings, and does magical things told in rhyme. The creature, Spot, takes the shape of different animals but the kids want him to be himself. Which is a good message, but the actual text isn't very positive. There's a lot of "We don't like you like that" before we get to "We just want want our old friend Spot."
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February 1, 2022Spot, the chameleon-like leopard star of Put Me in the Zoo, is through with life in the zoo. And with changing his spots, too. Now he’s into changing his shape, and he wants to be somebody new! But as Spot soon discovers, it’s not easy being as big as an elephant or as tall as a giraffe or as small as a mouse. In fact, sometimes it’s easiest just being yourself, as he— and young readers—learn in this cheerful, rhyming Beginner Book about self-acceptance.
July 12, 2018
Put Me in the Zoo and I Want to Be Somebody New! seem to be this boy's new favorites. He takes the idea of preschool books on repeat very seriously. I enjoyed the rhythm and rhymes of this one. The sequence and repetition in phrasing was equally good for my budding reader to participate and listen in, even if I was reading for her little brother.
We own this one in a red book treasury.
We own this one in a red book treasury.
February 23, 2019
Once again, I liked the beginning reader aspects of this book- repetition, rhyming, easier sight words. I liked that the message seemed to be "we like you the way you are" but I didn't really like how they got to that message by constantly telling Spot that they did not like him when he was the other animals.
July 29, 2019
Spot wants to be someone new, but every time he changes, his friends don't like it.
While I get the book is supposed to show it's best to be who you are, it doesn't portray that very well. Instead, it emphasizes that fact that you should bow to what your friends think is best for you, instead of having them like you for who you are.
While I get the book is supposed to show it's best to be who you are, it doesn't portray that very well. Instead, it emphasizes that fact that you should bow to what your friends think is best for you, instead of having them like you for who you are.
April 27, 2020
This is a classic story that I remember from my childhood.
While it is a fun story, I don't know if I can say that I love it or even really like it.
I read this during circle time to a group of 2.5 year olds and they were interested but didn't seem to love it either.
That being said, it is in no way a bad book. I think that the enjoyment is reading it yourself as a young reader 6-8.
While it is a fun story, I don't know if I can say that I love it or even really like it.
I read this during circle time to a group of 2.5 year olds and they were interested but didn't seem to love it either.
That being said, it is in no way a bad book. I think that the enjoyment is reading it yourself as a young reader 6-8.
July 13, 2022
I absolutely enjoyed and loved the other two books, but this one had me feeling quite sad until the end. The end is very sweet in where Spot is taught that you must love yourself but at the same time through the story things like being too fat, too tall and too small were seen as bad, so it doesn't make sense to judge each new way Spot is through the book ...Loved the illustrations though!
February 15, 2026
I get that the moral is supposed to be about being happy with yourself just as you are, which is fine... but it just felt like a bunch of "friends" critiquing someone's creativity and telling telling them they have to conform to be what society wants. "We do not like you fat, tall, small" etc... that's quite the message to convey to kids! No thanks.
December 26, 2020
2.5 rounded up.
I respect it, love the title, and the message.
But hey! I really love how far picture books have come. Best time ever for picture books... and I’m glad to have read lots with similar messages and whimsical vibes that do it better than this one now.
I respect it, love the title, and the message.
But hey! I really love how far picture books have come. Best time ever for picture books... and I’m glad to have read lots with similar messages and whimsical vibes that do it better than this one now.
March 20, 2021
Rare is the children's book where the sequel is better than the original. This is a borderline case where it might be true. They're neck and neck in my opinion and they're both...fine. Par, in kid's book form.
March 22, 2024
This was a feel-good kind of book about an animal named Spot who gets bored with being himself, so he transforms into an elephant, a giraffe, and then a mouse, but none of these changes suite him. In the end, he knows that the best thing to be is just yourself. My rating - 4/5
July 6, 2017
wonderful book to help teach kids that it's okay to just be yourself.
November 25, 2018
A silly story about liking yourself for who you are.
December 28, 2018
I read this with my brother and he LOVED it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews