Connor's Overdue Library Book, The Dot

Most mornings are rushed; this is probably true for most of us.  But this morning was different.  I woke up a little early and so did my four-year-old son.  As I was getting him ready for school, I remembered he had a library book that was due.  I felt a little sad because we hadn't read it yet, but then realized we had a little extra time so we sat down in a chair together and enjoyed this cute little story.  The message is very much in line with the meaning of this blog.  If it's unclear to anyone why I'm blogging, this is a good metaphor.

The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, starts off with a girl named Vashti staring at a blank sheet of paper at the end of art class.  She's angry and frustrated because she feels she just can't draw.  She expresses this to her teacher who says, "Just make a mark and see where it takes you."  So Vashti jabs a dot on the paper.  Her teacher takes a look and just tells her to sign it.  The next week, Vashti is surprised to see her "dot" framed in gold and hanging on the wall above her teacher's desk.

Vashti says to herself, "Hmmph! I can make a better dot than that!"  And she sets out to paint a better dot.  But she doesn't stop there.  She paints all kinds of wonderful dots.  She shows all of her dot paintings at a school art show.  She is admired by another child who says, "You're a really great artist.  I wish I could draw."  She tells him, "I bet you can."  He says no, he can't even draw a straight line with a ruler.  She gives him a blank sheet of paper and says, "show me."  He draws a wobbly line.

Vashti takes the sheet of paper with the boy's wobbly line on it.  She looks at it carefully.  Then, she tells him to sign it.