Many children are starting school next month and Spot Goes to School is a lovely lift the flap board book which introduces some of the activities that take place in a school setting. It’s a very simple story that is also suitable for those who may be starting nursery or preschool. Eric Hill’s famous character goes through several emotions on his first day but by the end of the story he has convinced us that he likes school!
The Story: Miss Bear welcomes Spot to school on his first day. His friends are there to greet him and they start the day with a song. Spot hides because he can’t sing but then starts to feel more confident about exploring the classroom. By the end of the day Spot has had a wonderful time!
Spot’s day includes staple classroom activities such as singing, show and tell, dressing up, story time and painting. As a teacher and as a parent I laugh at the end when Spot plays down how much he likes school by saying it was ok, the biggest complaint that I heard from parents was always that their child never told them anything about school!
Eric Hill’s illustrations are as bold and colourful as his canine character. We particularly like the illustration with Spot and his friends painting and as a teacher I’m impressed with Miss Bear’s smiley expression when she sees all the mess that her pupils are making! Spot is joined by his friends, Helen (hippo), Steve (monkey), Tom (crocodile) and Clare (turtle) who participate enthusiastically in the classroom activities as well as having fun in the playground.
Spot Goes to School is a lovely story to read to children in a nursery classroom and can be used to stimulate discussions about what they enjoy doing in school. We enjoyed many of the Spot books when my daughter was younger, they’re great stories for introducing children to familiar childhood situations. Particular favourites here were Spot’s Hide and Seek and Spot Goes to the Circus.
Spot also has his own website which has downloadable colouring sheets, activities and news about events.
Age Range: 3 +
Author / Illustrator: Eric Hill
We’ve put together several of our favourite starting school books in a blogpost Stories to Prepare Children for their First Day at School. We also asked book bloggers to choose their favourites, their suggestions are in two blogposts: Book Bloggers Recommend Starting School Books One and Two.
You can find more starting school book suggestions on Story Snug’s Pinterest board
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