Did you know 99.9% of our genetic makeup is the same? It is only 0.1% that makes us unique. Celebrate our differences and similarities while learning about what makes us human. Learn how to accept those who are different but are made up of the same genes as everyone.

Read The Smallest Spot of a Dot to promote discussions on genetics, acceptance, compassion, empathy, making connections, inclusion, similarities and differences.

"The Smallest Spot of a Dot" is an informative and beautifully illustrated picture book about DNA and the way it makes us each unique. There is diverse representations of children within the book, including diverse racial representation and disability representation.

I did not enjoy this book. I love the sentiment of acceptance regardless of difference but I’ve read much better books for the same age group. It was contrived. I felt like the author had struggled with the rhyme and tried too hard as a result. It was repetitive and not in a good way. I was hoping to find a book I could share with my children at school that would help us to discuss the topic of difference and acceptance but this is not it. They would not enjoy this book.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot is a very cute picture book about how all humans are 99.99% genetically similar, and the teeny tiny part of our DNA that encompasses our differences in appearance, personality, and more. It's scientifically accurate so it is both educational and wholesome, with the message about how we are all equal even with how much diversity we have.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

I received an arc of this title for an honest review. This is a book about being different while still being the same. It's a bit wordy for me, but excellent rhyming skills.

What a wonderful wonderful book! I loved the message, the illustrations and the words - it was a plus to find they rhymed too! Just a gorgeous book which I will be buying a physical copy as soon as released.

What is not to love about this book? This is the perfect diversity book. Great for all ages and a perfect reminder that truly we are all 99.9% alike. While still highlighting that the extra .01 percent is truly special and helps make you the amazing person you are meant to be. No matter who you are or what you are faced with our tiny dots bring us all together and help create a beautiful world. This is such a perfect book for diversity and one I look forward to adding to my story time arsenal. Thank you so very much to Zonderkidz for publishing such a beautiful book and for allowing me to read an advance copy.

What makes you different? It’s all about your spots and dots, we’ve all got them!
A lovely look at how we are all born unique and how we should accept and embrace the things that make us different.
Beautiful illustrations add to the joy of this book.

I like this but I also don’t like this. The beginning where it explains the dots and everybody having jeans is confusing. This part could be taken out of the book. When the story of all the kids and how they were like and how they’re different gets going, that is when the story makes sense and is interesting. The illustrations are top notch and flow really well.

Teaching children about Genes and DNA, how we are different but also 99.9% the same or ‘Gene-dots and a twisty, twirly ladder of string’ - as they are called in the book. - This story takes you on that journey, explaining everything on the way. showing how we are one of a kind. ‘One-of-a-kind dot’ that makes you, you and me, well me. It is written in a very nice flowing manner, with easy to digest sentences for children and the illustrations are CUTE, VERY CUTE and oh so beautifully done. my absolute favourite is page 26, the illustrations are simply beautiful and calming and the sentence that belongs to it is: ‘Just ONE TINY DOT makes you different from me, But we all still belong to just ONE FAMILY.’ and it things this is how it should be. different but equal.

a big Thank you to Linsey, Michael & Lucy for sharing this MASTERPIECE! I’m totally in love.

I thoroughly enjoyed the rhyming verse structure of this charming book. Throughout, it celebrates how one tiny gene is all that makes us different to anyone else. With gorgeous illustrations, this is a book that will be enjoyed over and over again by children of all ages. I definitely need a copy for my classroom.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a great way to talk about diversity and sameness. The illustrations are beautiful and inclusive!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zonderkidz for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: January 31, 2023)

“The Smallest Spot of a Dot” by Linsey Davis was such a joy to read! I found myself smiling the entire time while reading the book to my 8-year-old daughter. She absolutely loved the illustration of the children making hand hearts over their glowing “me-my-mine” dot, and she asked if everyone really has a special dot like that. The book naturally created some meaningful conversations on how everyone is unique and yet equal.

I loved how playful the words and pictures were throughout the book. The beautiful illustrations were so whimsical and alive with motion and color that my daughter didn’t want the story to end!

I would absolutely recommend this book to children, teens, and adults because the message of equality is so simple yet powerful.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot is a book that teaches basics about genetics to children. It's purpose is to show that only 0.1% of our genetic makeup makes us different, and 99.9% is the same. My daughter-in-law is a genetic counsellor, so her children have some basic knowledge of genetics so I wanted to see what they thought about this book. Of course the older one kept talking about DNA and thought dot or spot was not accurate, but the younger two were okay with it. I liked the concept and the idea of acceptance as we are almost all the same. This is something that definitely needs to be reinforced. Some of the things mentioned that make us different are not necessarily caused by genetics, but environment, but that is not a big deal. We enjoyed this book, especially as it showed such diversity in race, gender, and even those with disabilities. The illustrations are fantastic, showing so many different children, but always reiterating that they are more alike. They are having fun, cooperating, sharing and playing together with happiness and joy. The cadence was well done and it was easy to read aloud. A great book to read with young children, to show how we are all more alike than different. I recommend this book to all, but especially schools and classrooms.

This is a wonderful book and puts relevant social issues into a context which younger children will understand well.
The illustrations are stunning and work in harmony with the way the text is laid out, yet are simple enough not to overpower the message of the book.
The smallest spot of a dot would easily support PSHE lessons regarding kindness and equality in primary aged classrooms.
Thank you for a great book that I am sure will be noted for it's important message and beautiful illustrations.

Totally, completely in LOVE with this book. It's the most wonderful way of explaining our similarities that we all share and the differences that makes us unique.

We loved the starkness of the first page of this book that just tells you to explore the page, then the next that asks you if you can see a spot, then the next a page with oodles of spots. We enjoyed how the spots are saying hello in different languages. My five year old daughter loved saying the different hellos of other languages.

A pastel rainbow palette of colours are used for the illustrations and this instantly gives the book a very inviting appeal. The myriad of soft hues used on each page are wonderful and as someone who studied biochemistry I thoroughly enjoyed the playful representation of the DNA double helix structures throughout the book.

The book was oozing with diversity with children of lots of skin colours represented in the book. There were also children wearing aids such as spectacles, using wheel chairs and hearing aids. The representation felt very natural.

It's a book I'd highly recommend.

A wonderful story about how even though we are all different in many ways, when it comes down to it we are really 99.9% the same because of our genes.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and capture diversity in the sweetest way. The illustrator represented children of all different races and abilities-I especially loved spotting the little girl with cochlear implants!

This book would make the perfect addition to any early elementary classroom library and would tie in nicely to a science or SEL lesson.


Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many books for children focus on the fact that we are all different and unique. Even though they mean well they might give the impression that we don’t have that much in common by pointing out all the differences that divide us. The Smallest Spot of a Dot is different. Its focus lies on the fact that us humans have much more in common than we think, and that our similarities are so much greater than our differences. While it does also highlight the fact that we all have our unique features that make us special and one of a kind, the greater takeaway-message would be, in my opinion, that for the greatest part we are all the same, which I really liked.

Something else I really liked was the fact that this book is so diverse – in every sense possible. We see all different kinds of bodies – abled and disabled, visually impaired, children in wheelchairs, blue-eyed, brown-eyed, children of all shapes, colours and sizes – and they are all beautiful. The affirmations that we all are so much alike, and that we additionally each have our own distinct features only underlined this.

I think the subtitle “The Little Ways We’re Different, the Big Ways We’re the Same” sums this book up pretty well. It is heart-warming, it is inspiring, it is giving you hope. What more could you want from a book? I can’t wait to get a print copy for my bookshelf!

This is a wonderful children's book that focuses on "the smallest dot". which is DNA, and explains to kids why everyone is unique. As the book unfolds, it also explains how we are all human and have the same basic needs, and that kindness to everyone is important. I love the messaging, the cute rhymes, the illustration and pretty much everything about this book. I love positive messaging in Children's books, especially ones that explain so succinctly why it's important to understand our differences and also our similarities. I will be giving this out at baby showers!

What a lovely little book. This book teaches all about difference and how beautiful it is. This would be used amazingly in class to discuss how we are different but are all little dots on this planet. Lindsey Davis has got this spot on our should I say 'dot' on!