Lots of Dots

Lots of Dots is a picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about a group of animals who start a club for anyone with dots, and find that the best club of all is the one everybody belongs to.

Jaguar is lonely, until Ladybird says they should play together, because they both have dots. Snake and Rockjumper have dots too, so they start a club for Dotties, with badges, a flag and a secret password. When Zebra asks to join, Jaguar says no: Zebra has stripes, not dots. Then Rockjumper has an idea. They turn it into a Patterns Club, add stripes to the flag and whisper the secret word to Zebra.

But nobody can find a game they can all play, and when Monkey arrives, Jaguar tells him he cannot join, because he is plain. Monkey is not lonely at all. He belongs to the best club of all, the Everybody Club, and so do they. Its badge is the best badge of all, and they are wearing it already: their hearts.

They print patterns for everyone and throw an Everybody Club party. The secret word does not need to be secret any more.

The story helps children notice when a group leaves someone out, and see that we all belong together. It is written by Pippa Goodhart and is music-free.

Jaguar looked at her reflection and sighed. "I'm lonely, being all on my own."

"I'll play with you," said Ladybird.

"But you're not like me," said Jaguar.

"I am," said Ladybird. "We've both got dots. Yours are splotchy dots, but I don't mind that."

"I'm dotty too," said Snake. "And so is Rockjumper."

"Let's make a club for Dotties!" said Ladybird.

"If it's a club, we need badges," said Jaguar, "to show that we belong."

"We need a secret password too," said Snake. "I know what it should be." She whispered it to Ladybird, who whispered it to Rockjumper, who whispered it to Jaguar.

"Don't tell it to anybody who's not in our club," said Ladybird.

"Tell what?" asked Zebra.

"Our Dotties Club secret word," said Rockjumper. "You're not in the club, so I can't tell you."

"Then please can I join?" asked Zebra.

"No," said Jaguar. "Sorry, but you haven't got any dots."

Then Rockjumper had an idea. "We could change our club. We could make it a Patterns Club, so that Zebra's stripes let her in."

"Good idea!" said the others. They added stripes and other kinds of patterns to their flag, and they whispered their secret word to Zebra.

"I like that word," smiled Zebra. "Now what shall we do?"

"Let's play catch," said Jaguar.

"I can't do that," said Snake. "I haven't got hands. Let's do a slithering slalom instead."

"Or jump onto the highest rock," said Rockjumper. But nobody could think of a game they could all play.

Then along came Monkey. "Oh dear," said Jaguar. "Monkey, you can't be in our Patterns Club, because you're plain."

They all felt bad, and rather sad for Monkey. "Does that make you feel lonely, Monkey?" Zebra asked.

"No," said Monkey, "because I belong to a club too. I belong to the best club of them all."

"Ooh, what club is that?" asked Ladybird.

"The Everybody Club," said Monkey. "And you all belong in it too."

"Does it have a badge?" asked Jaguar.

"It has the best badge of all," said Monkey, "and you're wearing it already. It's your heart."

"I like that," said Jaguar. "But I want to wear something on the outside too."

So they fetched pots of paint and some paper, and they printed lots of every sort of pattern for everybody. Then Ladybird called everyone to an Everybody Club party, and they began it by playing dotty games.

"We haven't told Monkey the secret word!" Rockjumper remembered.

"It's everybody's secret now," said Snake, "so it doesn't have to be secret at all. Let's see if you can guess it, Monkey. The word begins like frog, and it rhymes with wrens."

Can you guess it too? The word is friends.