Spot & Dot

Spot, the Cat (2016) followed the adventures of a city cat as he left home to wend his way through museums and parks as his boy tried to track him. This sequel is almost the same, only this time Spot takes a powder to follow a dog named Dot. Spot's owner tries to help the girl putting up "Lost Dog" posters, but it's Spot who has Dot in his sights. This time the chase takes places through streets, a library, even a homey band shell, as the animals go further afield. The fun remains the same, however, only doubled, by trying to find both a cat and dog in the intricate drawings. As in the previous book, the artwork is a feast for the eyes, especially the double-page spreads. For instance, the scene at a bustling flea market offers an overhead view of vendors selling wares (or reading newspapers), buyers examining a cornucopia of items, people sauntering by with baby carriages, or folks carrying home their treasures. Lots of cool fun for a wide range of ages.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist

PreS-Gr 2--Spot, the curious feline protagonist of Cole's Spot, the Cat returns in this charming wordless sequel. At first, Spot perches on the chair by the window while his young owner reads. When the boy looks outside as well, they see a girl posting flyers for her lost dog. As they walk downstairs to investigate, Spot promptly dashes down the street and finds Dot, the missing pup, pawing through a trash bin. Dot bounds away and a merry chase ensues, taking readers on another urban adventure. Obsessively detailed spreads show the runaways dashing through city streets, a busy flea market, a trolley, a bakery, a doggy park, an orchestra in a gazebo, and even a library, all the while their children put up flyers. Disheartened, boy and girl head home (turning out to be next-door neighbors) just as their pets return and are reunited with their relieved owners. As in the previous installment, Cole's meticulous black-and-white illustrations offer a wealth of details for poring over and many decoy spots and dots while the readers seek the furry heroes. VERDICT A worthy follow-up that stands just as well on its own, this warmhearted tale will delight the young animal lovers and fans of the search-and-find genre.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University

We first met cat Spot and Spots boy owner in Spot, the Cat (rev. 3/16). Here Cole adds two new characters: dog Dot (like Spot, white with one large oval black marking) and Dots girl owner. When Spot notices the girl putting up lost posters on the street, the cat dashes off in pursuit of the missing dog, and the boy joins the girl in her endeavors. As in the previous book, detailed wordless black-and-white double-page-spread cityscapesfilled to the brim with people, pets, vehicles, activity, lifeensue. Spot pursues Dot through an open-air market, a bakery, a park, a library, etc. Viewers will find the single large black spot on each pet crucial in locating Spot and Dot on every wonderfully crowded spreadalthough the fair amount of disruption the two cause wherever they go also helps draw the eye. All ends happily, with both pets home with their ownerswho turn out to be apartment-building neighborsand new friendships launched all around. A fresh, absorbing, and entertaining offering from a veteran picture-book creator. martha v. parravano July/Aug p.105(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A cat trails a runaway dog on a gleeful sprint through a bustling city.Just as Spot (the cat) sees a new neighbor kid pinning up a "Lost Dog" poster, the feline also notices that very dog (Dot) pawing through trash down the street. When Dot takes off, Spot decides to follow. Keeping up with them in Cole's staggeringly detailed urban scenes couldn't be more breathlessly funor more challenging. Squinting eyes inevitably settle on myriad vignettes embedded within the double-page, full-bleed, black-and-white spreads of exacting ink crosshatches and linework. Life happens everywhere (in apartment windows, at the bakery, on the street, inside the library, at the dog park, in the flea market). People and animals wave, sneer, smile, pull, lift, doze, fetch, paint, read, and wag and flick tails within these wonderfully congested urban scenes. Interpreting quotidian moments as a voyeur feels immensely pleasurable, and inevitably readers will dawdle and dream about each tiny circumstancebut then remember Spot and Dot and get back to work looking for the oval markings on the creatures' flanks that distinguish them from all the other cats and dogs. So many cats and dogs! When they both return home, there's palpable relief on their owners' faces and in readers' hearts.An extraordinary search-and-find that delivers the hum and intrigue found in a city's multitudes and also the singular feeling of returning to one's individual place in the world. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Spot, the Cat (2016) followed the adventures of a city cat as he left home to wend his way through museums and parks as his boy tried to track him. This sequel is almost the same, only this time Spot takes a powder to follow a dog named Dot. Spot's owner tries to help the girl putting up Lost Dog posters, but it's Spot who has Dot in his sights. This time the chase takes places through streets, a library, even a homey band shell, as the animals go further afield. The fun remains the same, however, only doubled, by trying to find both a cat and dog in the intricate drawings. As in the previous book, the artwork is a feast for the eyes, especially the double-page spreads. For instance, the scene at a bustling flea market offers an overhead view of vendors selling wares (or reading newspapers), buyers examining a cornucopia of items, people sauntering by with baby carriages, or folks carrying home their treasures. Lots of cool fun for a wide range of ages. Grades K-2. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

PreS-Gr 2—Spot, the curious feline protagonist of Cole's Spot, the Cat returns in this charming wordless sequel. At first, Spot perches on the chair by the window while his young owner reads. When the boy looks outside as well, they see a girl posting flyers for her lost dog. As they walk downstairs to investigate, Spot promptly dashes down the street and finds Dot, the missing pup, pawing through a trash bin. Dot bounds away and a merry chase ensues, taking readers on another urban adventure. Obsessively detailed spreads show the runaways dashing through city streets, a busy flea market, a trolley, a bakery, a doggy park, an orchestra in a gazebo, and even a library, all the while their children put up flyers. Disheartened, boy and girl head home (turning out to be next-door neighbors) just as their pets return and are reunited with their relieved owners. As in the previous installment, Cole's meticulous black-and-white illustrations offer a wealth of details for poring over and many decoy spots and dots while the readers seek the furry heroes. VERDICT A worthy follow-up that stands just as well on its own, this warmhearted tale will delight the young animal lovers and fans of the search-and-find genre.—Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University