Read & Create- Where Are You Blue? (Dot Town)

#thelittleone just turned 16 months old, and it’s just over the last month or so that we’ve really begun to see his personal interest in books begin to shine though. He seems to really love all books, but unfortunately can not be trusted unattended with a paperback. (There was a very unfortunate incident with a Pete the Cat early reader. One minute he was flipping through pages, the next- the book was in 2 pieces. I have shielded #thebigone from this knowledge, in hopes of keeping the peace between brothers. Don’t tell!!)

One the books #thelittleone is allowed access to without constant supervision is Sonali Fry’s Where Are You, Blue? (Dot Town) (affiliate disclosure). This board book is perfect for his destructive little fingers, and he’s almost always enthralled with Holly Clifton-Brown’s cheerful illustrations. The colorful dots in the tale are preparing for a party, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of their tardy friend Blue. While they wait, they play a bit of a game of ‘telephone’- that old ‘pass the message’ game everyone remembers, where the idea is never communicated quite right. Blue is imagined in all sorts of fantastic and quirky settings while he makes his way to the festivities.

Now that #thebigone is developing some strong reading skills, we’ve found he’s able to help read to his brother, which is awesome, especially when the baby wants to hear the same story 35 times in a row. Where Are You Blue? is technically for a younger audience, #thebigone actually really loves it and never complains about it ‘being for babies’, I think mainly because he finds the illustrations so charming.

After one of our many recent readings of the book, I threw together a very quick project for #thebigone to accompany the book. Using the free printable I created, he was able to spend some quiet time imitating the illustrative style of the book, as well as imagining what sort of character each dot would be, just like Blue’s friends do with him. This sheet is great because it can be completed almost entirely independently by a slightly older child, freeing up a few minutes for you to cook dinner, switch some laundry, or if you’re like me, run to the bathroom without an audience of any kind! (Such luxury!)

#thebigone has Harry Potter on the brain right now, so (obviously) the characters of Dot Town were reimagined as Harry & his friends.

Grab your printable sheet, and set your son or daughter to work with some crayons, markers, or pencils. Who would they imagine the colorful little dots to be?

If you are thinking about adding this book to your home library, please consider purchasing via my Amazon Affiliate link below- you’ll get a book that we love & highly recommend at no additional cost to you, while I earn a small commision that allows me to be home with my kiddos. Win-win, right?!

If you enjoy building your child’s reading comprehension with crafts & activities inspired by popular children’s literature, there are lots of great ideas out there!