Ways to find out more about Dot Day:
For official Dot Day Twitter feed, follow @DotClubConnect.
On September 15th, nearly a million children and adults around the globe are expected to celebrate International Dot Day – a grass roots “creativity & courage” movement, which has generated support around the globe, including all 50 U.S. states, all seven continents, and even on the International Space Station. Inspired by Boston-area author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds’ classic “storybook for all ages” The Dot, International Dot Day inspires young and old to embrace the power of personal creativity to change the world.
The Dotis a heartwarming story of a perceptive and caring teacher who reaches a reluctant student who thinks she can’t draw by encouraging her to trust in her own abilities and to be brave enough to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.” Exploring the themes of creativity, bravery and self-expression, The Dot has been translated into many languages (including Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Hebrew, Spanish and even Braille) and the animated film of The Dot(produced by Reynolds’ multi-media design and development firm FableVision and co-producer Scholastic) earned the Carnegie Medal of Excellence.
International Dot Day began four years when Iowa teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Reynolds’ book on September 15th, because the original publishing date of The Dot is September 15, 2003. Shay, a public school teacher for over two decades, notes “In The Dot, it is the teacher’s invitation to be creative becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage for the student, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing. Every great teacher works for those transformational moments.”
International Dot Day has garnered attention in schools, libraries, and communities around the globe. Registrations reached 17,500 in 2011 – and last soared past the 850,000 mark. Reynolds notes, “There’s even an entire town in Connecticut celebrating – connecting the dots between the schools, public library and community at large – truly amazing.” Indeed, Dot Day celebrations now take many forms; from short art workshops where students make dots and sign them to animating dot-inspired art/stories on the computer, from weeklong school-wide celebrations to a year-long theme for a school district.
Earlier this year, a copy of The Dotbook was even rocketed to Canadian Astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield serving at Commander aboard the International Space Station. Reynolds explains, “Commander Hadfield snapped a few photos of The Dot book floating in the cupola of the space station. On his last day of his recent Boston visit, he handed me my book, which he had signed, noting that this copy…had made 2,500 trips around the big blue dot – planet Earth.”
This year Reynolds will be honored by the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. on Dot Day with a museum-wide celebration of the book. The day-long event will include special dot-making and sharing activities for all ages, as well as a special showing of award-winning animated film version of The Dot, a co-production between Reynolds’ children’s media firm FableVision and Scholastic.
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