Lots of Dots

Frazier (the Stanley books) identifies dots in the everyday landscape with a designer's palette and tidy verse. The silhouette of an eager, wide-eyed young man bounces through the pages, while flat shapes and deft use of color allow children to focus on the dots in each spread. "There are dots for going," Frazier points out as the young man stops his car in front of a traffic light. The car, the man, and the traffic light housing are all orange, and the contrasting red, yellow, and green dots on the light jump out at readers. "[A]nd dots for licking," the verse continues, as the young man, now in blue, works on an ice cream cone whose scoops are raspberry, orange, and lime. "[D]ots for snacking" accompanies a peapod, "and dots for kicking" pairs with a ball launched high in the air. Frazier maintains an upbeat tone with tight rhyme and meter throughout; with the exception of one night scene, with dots for stars, the backgrounds are plain white, giving the pages a freshly washed, contemporary feel. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)