What's next, Spot? by Eric Hill

Who does not love Spot books! The first, written by British-American author and illustrator Eric Hill (1927-2014), was the beloved lift-the -flap book Where's Spot?(1980). Published now by Penguin Random House, the Spot books have continued to be loved by generations of children globally.  The gentle and positive stories feature the happy puppy called Spot who has all sorts of everyday adventures. The illustrations are brightly coloured with the subjects boldly outlined in black. The books are often interactive.

The interactive format of What's next Spot? is important because on every double page, the child makes a choice for Spot by lifting the flaps. The book is full of joy and vitality. "It is the start of a new day and Spot has lots to do. What will Spot choose for breakfast?" The child has the chance to make a decision for Spot about what he might like for breakfast. There is a multiple choice (of 4) for the child to make on each page. Behind each flap you see Spot enjoying the choice and making a positive affirmation  such as, "I love fruit." At the bottom of each page there are two questions for the child to answer that reinforce the focus concept - (in this case) breakfast food choices. The book continues in this manner through a typical day for a preschool age child and finishes with choosing a bed time story for Spot. The concepts of order (first and next) are reinforced along with the idea of choice and agency.

What's next Spot? is derived from the original series of works created and written by Eric Hill and the moral right of Eric Hill has been asserted. This boardbook is strong and happily the flaps are also board so they don't rip. It is made to be durable for little hands. This is so important as many lift-the flap books are destroyed very quickly. This book will withstand much handling. The format is comfortingly repetitive and choices that children make are within the categories of breakfast food, clothes, activities, costumes and stories. 

What's next Spot? is a delightful board book to add to your Spot book collection.

Themes: Making choices, Preschool daily routines, Parent/child bond, Friends.

Wendy Jeffrey