One Tiny Dot

Lucy Rowland (author)Lucy Rowland is an award-winning picture book author and a children's speech and language therapist. She lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and son. Gwen Millward (Illustrator) Gwen was brought up in Wales. After school she migrated north to Edinburgh where she graduated with a First in illustration and was awarded the Helen A. Rose Bequest for art. Gwen has written and illustrated several books, including two Bear and Bird titles, Stories from Bug Garden (Candlewick), Tiger Lily and Flat Cat, written by Hiawyn Oram. Gwen lives in Bristol with her young son.

An endearing personification of the power of kindnessIt starts with a tiny blue dot making its way along a busy street hitching a ride on some smart new trainers and because the boy makes him welcome and is kind that makes it grow bigger.A big puddle means the boys shoes get soaked through, but a girl kindly offers him a towel and the dot grows again. On they go, helping an old man and a stranded kitten; all through the town spreading kindness, which means the dot gets bigger and bigger and happiness spreads, until the mayor kindly decides to take everyone to the beach for icecream. The lovely rhyming text swoops and swirls along with them. But then they meet a huge, fiery anger and a little girl who has been left out. Undaunted, kindness sees the sadness inside the anger, and cuddles and inclusion smooth the way for a delightful beach party for all.With a lovely diverse and inclusive cast of characters and a really joyful colour palette the evocative illustrations are wonderful at conveying emotions with a very impactful use of thick black and flame red to personify the anger. This conveys an important message about the power of simple acts of kindness 'just pass on a smile and you'll never regret it.'A delightful book to read aloud and to share one to one.