Spot & Dot

Starred review from May 1, 2019
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 fun--or 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 circumstance--but 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(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2019

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

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.