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
Spot Goes to School (Spot Lift the Flap)
by ERIC HILL [Penguin Books]
£4.57
· 
EUR 2,46
· 
EUR 7,20
· 
EUR 7,29
· 
$6.24
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
Hi Catherine, what a perfect book for children just heading into the big, wide world of school! Spot The Dog books have been around for a long time now and it’s good to see they are still going strong!
Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.
xx
Spot is such a fun character for children to identify with, he’s brilliant at introducing children to new experiences 🙂
I have just ordered this from Amazon – thank you! My 3 y/o starts at the school nursery next week and is currently slightly Spot obsessed – we are reading our 4 Spot books on repeat even the Easter one! She will love this. I will print some colouring off for her tomorrow too.
#MMBC
I hope that your little one enjoys herself at nursery. This Spot story is perfect for introducing the concept of school to younger children 🙂
Can’t beat a bit of Spot the dog! Thanks for sharing with #readwithme
I used to love the Spot books as a child too 🙂
My sister used to love Spot when she was little! Sadly I was too old myself. My niece starts school this week, but I think this book would be a bit young for her. My nephew starts playgroup and it would probably be perfect for him.
This book is perfect for introducing school to a playgroup aged child. I hope that your niece and nephew enjoy themselves at school / playgroup.
We love Spot! And this looks great for this time of year – we have one about Spot going to nursery which BookBairn loves to read! #readwithme
I haven’t seen the book about Spot going to nursery, this story is also more suited to nursery aged children than four / five year olds.
We love the Spot books- a great idea to read this to children just starting a new year at nursery or school! #readwithme
This first day at school book is great for much younger children although it mirrors the activities in a Reception classroom too.
My boys loved the Spot books. We’ve passed them on now, but still have a Spot glove puppet #readwithme
Spot is a favourite with most children! I always loved reading lift the flap books with my daughter, even if we always knew what was underneath because we’d read the story so many times!
I love Spot books, they were some of my favourites when I was younger. We don’t have this one but will keep in mind for my youngest who will start nursery next year. #readwithme
Spot Goes to School is perfect for little ones starting nursery 🙂
This would be perfect for my 3 year old who has just started school!
I think that 3 is the perfect age for this book, it’s simpler than most picture books about staring school.
Ahh! I love the Spot books. I remember them as a child & my girls loved them too when they were little. This sounds perfect for little ones x #MMBC
I love the fact that it’s also a board book. It makes it perfect for really little people 🙂