A fun way to discuss what makes us all the same and all different. Nice representation of different racial backgrounds in the illustrations.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot takes on the big topic of DNA and makes it understandable and relatable for our littlest readers!
With charming rhyme and beautiful illustrations, this picture book will make a fabulous Read Aloud in our Elementary Library. In fact, I can't wait to use it on International Dot Day as a read aloud and jumping off point for many activities celebrating our uniqueness and our commonalities!

What an amazing book! This belongs in every classroom and on every child’s bookshelf. This book helps children understand how they are formed, but also shows many different nationalities. I love that it included many differences that they may encounter like glasses or wheelchair bound friends. It was very colorful illustrations, and just the right length to keep attention until the end. Great book!

A beautiful visualization of genetics, DNA, and how we are mostly the same, and yet all unique. The entire book is done in well-paced rhyme, which is always a hit in my household. The entire idea of DNA is broken down and explained very well, so I think kids even as young as 4 years could use this as a start to their understanding of biology.

Genes are represented by dots (it would make more sense for a gene to look like a squiggly line, but the book is working on an awkward scale, so I'll let it pass), and so circles and dots feature prominently throughout the artwork. Even on pages with smaller art pieces depicting humans, the artist fills out the background with vibrant, multi-color dots, making the whole book lively and visually pleasing. The humans depicted show the great diversity possible from out shared genes, once more calling forward the theme of connection through basic ingredients.

I think the one part I have to question is a line about genes determining what food a kid likes. Looking it up, there's a lot of debate on if taste is more determined by genetics or environment and exposure. But it's not an entirely WRONG fact, just one that needs more context. Which is hard to do in a picture book.

Advanced review copy provided by the publisher.

With beautiful, diverse illustrations and simple, lyrical text this story is a perfect reminder that while we’re all different in some ways, we’re all the same in many more. I’ll definitely be buying it for my classroom library!

This book is a work of art. I’ve preordered a copy for each of my nieces and nephews already. If you’re looking for a Dr. Seuss-like cadence with a meaningful message and stunning illustrations, this is for you. The words are as beautiful as the pictures and such a good way to teach young children and remind adults that we are all human, different but the same. I highly recommend this book.

With thanks to the author, the publishers Zonderkidz, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is a beautifully illustrated book with a very important message for children and adults alike, namely that in spite of differences in our appearance and preferences, all people are essentially 99.9% the same, and so we should treat each other kindly and with respect. The story never gets too "sciency" despite talking about DNA and genetics, and the likening of genes to dots of different colours is an intuitive way of explaining these concepts in a way that kids will understand. The rhyming verse was fun to read with none of the language used being too challenging, again perfect for the target audience. All in all a very positive reading experience.

Beautiful illustrations and science come together to share with children all the ways humanity is tied together. And yet, it celebrates that we have uniqueness that makes us beautiful. Focusing not on similarities or differences, but on both, while using a positive message, makes this a great addition to any classroom or home library.

Let us begin with the shout-out to NetGalley and Zonderkidz for allowing me to read this absolutely adorable picture book before it was published!

For those of you who aren’t aware, I’m a youth librarian in a public library. Part of my job includes making decisions about our collection for children from birth up through high school. For brand-new, upcoming books, I rely a lot on reviews because I can’t possibly read every book that’s about to be or has recently been published. Sometimes, though, while I’m browsing NetGalley something will catch my eye, and I’ll request access to a digital advanced reader copy (or galley) so that I can develop my own opinion on it. I find this happens more often with middle grade and young adult than picture books, and that’s partially because I feel that you can’t fully appreciate picture books when they’re ebooks. I suppose if you’re able to read an ebook on a computer, it’s not so bad because you can still see the illustrations at a significant size. However, if, like me, you read your ebooks on a phone, the illustrations have to be decreased in size, and I feel like you just lose a lot of valuable detail when that happens.

So, you know there must have been something special about The Smallest Spot of a Dot to make me request it from NetGalley. What first drew me in was the cover, and the synopsis gave me enough pause in thinking about the book that I decided to just request it. I’m really glad I did because this was such a sweet book! Davis and Tyler’s text about how genetically humans are mostly the same is such an interesting way to come at the concept of “how people are different and similar.” I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it in a picture book before! What really made the book for me, though, was Fleming’s illustrations. For one thing, they are so cute! Her style is bubbly and vibrant, and the fact that she incorporated ethnically, racially, and ability diverse people was wonderful! I’ll definitely be ordering this one for my library when it comes out in January. I can’t wait to see these illustrations at the size they were intended to be viewed!

This is a beautiful book! The illustrations are fun and whimsical. The imagery and words show a diverse group of children.

I had high hopes for this book because I appreciate anything STEAM for young kids, and I was left disappointed. It seems like the book was trying to be too many things at once (Diversity! DNA! Climate! Etcetera!) and the result was a message that got muddled.

Maybe my expectations were too high - after all, it is a tall order trying to explain DNA to a preschooler. Even though they didn’t quite understand all of it, my kids still enjoyed the book.

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

I love this very appropriate explanation of dna for kids. It touches on some really important points without going to deep.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot by Linsey Davis is a unique picture book that attempts to explain genes and DNA to small children using the concept of small dots. The book explains using rhyming text that we all have a small dot that makes us unique, but it also makes the strong point that we all have many dots that make us the same. Rather than simply making the case that we are all unique individuals with our own special characteristics, this book wants to emphasize that we all share much in common and we need to embrace our collective place in the world of human kind.

This was a sweet story explaining just how similar we are and how the things that make us different are beautiful. It was told in a digestible way that kids can understand and the artwork that accompanies it is so pleasing visually. My primary students will love this book.

This story is absolutely beautiful. The writing, rhyming and rhythm is wonderful to read aloud and my little ones loved it. The illustrations are gorgeous and the actual story has such a lovely message. We are all human, alike yet unique but equal all the same. I will definitely be looking to purchase this book for our bookshelf!

Such a simple way to teach children about DNA and how our DNA makes us who we are. It is a story that all students can relate to and easily understand DNA and genes. Unlike other "same/different" stories, Linsey Davis does an excellent job at showing kids the power of accepting others that look different from us and teaching about the human body at the same time. "But we're still 99.9% the same" rings true for all of us. I would highly recommend this for teachers to use in literacy, SEL curriculum, and definitely in science.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot by Lindsey Davis is a wonderful story about our genes through the use of a dot. The illustrations are wonderful. The words are thoughtful, kind and respectful. I love this story.

I just reviewed The Smallest Spot of a Dot by Linsey Davis. #TheSmallestSpotofaDot #NetGalley Read this bookmy sweet baby boy. He loves this book and wanted to read it a million times! This book is about DNA. It talks about how we are all the same but different too.

Such a lovely children’s book. Linsey Davis, Michael Tyler, and Lucy Fleming have created a delightful rhyming story with beautiful, colorful pictures. The rhyme makes this educational book easy to read and a joy to hear. The message is not heavy-handed. Instead, the reader learns how people, no matter how diverse we seem, are more alike than we are different. The illustrations are inclusive, representative, colorful and beautiful. I cannot wait for this book to be available so that I can share it in story-times at my library. Thank you to Zonderkidz, Zondervan, and Linsey Davis for the advanced copy.

The Smallest Spot of a Dot by Linsey Davis illustrated by Lucy Fleming grabs your attention from the beginning because the illustrations are spectacular. The illustrations illuminate the children in beautiful watercolor art that is very charming. The book opens to a gift page and then flows into trying to explain to children in a very loving way about genes but that we all belong to the human race and therefore we all are the same except .1% of us and we are 99.9% identical.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Smallest Spot of a Dot.

A celebration of our differences and how we are the same. Using dots to signify our genes in that .1% of our genes make us uniquely who we are. We are 99.9% identical, alike, the same-equal.

It is colorful and informative in our differences and what we have in common. It is what makes us human. In doing so we can have concern and compassion for each other.

A special thank you to Zonderkidz and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.