Stripes and Dots

by ReadRead · 90 sec

Zee has stripes. Dot has dots. A very first book for very new readers: one short sentence on every page, and little paper stripes and dots pop out every time the word is read.

10pop-up spreads

16things to tap

2new words

Words in this book

stripesdotsfroggiraffehatshooraykitelook

Peek inside

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Inside the book

Zee is a little zebra with stripes. Dot is a ladybug with dots. Look! The bee has stripes, and so does the kite. The frog has dots, and so does the big red mushroom. Then a giraffe comes by with two hats, one with dots and one with stripes. Swap! Now Zee has dots and Dot has stripes, and everybody laughs in the sunset.

Zee the zebra in a dotty hat and Dot the ladybug in a striped hat in Stripes and Dots.

Zee the little zebra shows off its stripes in a sunny meadow.

A rainbow-striped kite flies up over the flowers.

At sunset, Zee, Dot, the frog and the giraffe laugh together.

The new words in this book

stripes

Long lines of colour side by side, like a zebra’s coat. It comes up 7 times, and every time something on the page with stripes wiggles and pops little paper stripes into the air: Zee, the bee, the kite and Dot’s new hat.

dots

Little round spots of colour, like a ladybug’s back. It comes up 8 times: Dot, the frog, the red mushroom and Zee’s new hat all wiggle and pop little paper dots.

Made for children just starting kindergarten. Each page has one short sentence (3 to 6 words) in one pattern: “Look! Bee has stripes.” / “Look! Frog has dots.” Only one word changes, so a child can say the page with you by the third spread. Every other word is one a 4-year-old already knows, like bee, frog, kite, hats and look.

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

1Can you find Zee’s stripes? Trace one with your finger.
2How many dots does Dot have? Let’s count!
3Who is buzzing? Does the bee have stripes or dots?
4Where did the frog jump from? Point to its dots.
5What is flying in the sky? What colours are its stripes?
6What popped up out of the grass? Is it stripes or dots?
7How many hats does the giraffe have? Which one would you wear?
8Who has the dotty hat now? Who has the striped hat?
9Tap a friend. Say “stripes” or “dots” before you tap!
10Why are they laughing? Can you find something with stripes on your clothes?

How hard is this book?

Reading level · KBlends

Blends and sh/ch/th (frog, ship), plural -s. A decodable book: 9 words in 10 can be sounded out at this phonics step.

44words in all

19different words

4words per sentence

5longest sentence

More books at this level

Words a child can sound out, by phonics step

Step 1 · short a, i, o36%

Step 2 · all short vowels48%

Step 3 · blends91%

Step 4 · magic e, ee/ai93%

Step 5 · ar/or, oo/ou95%

Step 6 · longer words100%

Grammar in this book

Questions × 1Tap! Stripes or dots?
Commands × 4Look! Frog has dots.

Words that may stop a reader

hooraymushroomorkite

All 14 words, most used first

dots₈ · has₈ · stripes₇ · look₄ · ha₂ · and · hats · hooray · kite · mushroom · or · swap · tap · two

Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.

Tips for parents

First time: use Read to me and just enjoy the pictures together. It takes about a minute and a half.
Play “I spy” after the book: look for stripes and dots on clothes, towels, cups and toys at home.
Read it again and pause before the last word of each page, so your child can say “stripes” or “dots”.
On the tapping page, let your child guess out loud first, then tap to check.

Start reading