Surprise! There’s a hidden treasure under that flap! Lift-the-flap books promote participation by encouraging the reader to join in on the story. They are some of the best toddler books out there. Readers are urged to lift the tab on each page to reveal a key component of the story. This makes reading more engaging and interactive, which is essential for young children.
These books are wonderful for toddlers as their attention spans are exceedingly limited. If you have a little one who struggles to sit through a traditional book, lift-the-flap books are a great option because of their required interaction. These books are short, sweet, and hands-on. They are a toddler parent’s dream. Although intended for young toddlers, a wide range of skills can be applied to older kids as well. All of this together creates a space for connection and learning, the heartbeat of My Book Bud.
In this post, you’ll discover four activities related to Where’s Spot? These activities will promote early literacy development all while encouraging you and your child to bond on a deeper level. You and your child will infer, discuss setting, work on parts of speech, and find a bonus activity that brings the book to life. Peek into one of the best toddler books around and go find Spot!
Table of Contents
Where’s Spot?
Author and Illustrator: Eric Hill
Published by Penguin Books, 1980
Summary: Oh, no! Spot is missing! Help his mother search the house to find her missing puppy. Lift the flaps to see who is hiding behind each one. But watch out, you might encounter some pretty unexpected creatures along the way. This beloved classic is a cornerstone in the lift-the-flap community.
Skills to Tackle with the Best Toddler Books (Where’s Spot? )
Inference: Best for ages 2-5
Readers make inferences and “read between the lines” by combining background knowledge with text evidence. This is an incredibly important skill as it is used in both reading and our everyday lives.
Inference Example:
If you recently got a plant and a few days later it started to droop, you could infer that it desperately needed water and would die soon without it. No one would have to tell you that, you would just infer that based on your background knowledge of plants and the evidence on the plant in front of you.
Encouraging inferences helps develop critical thinking skills in young readers.
The best toddler books such as Where’s Spot? will promote deep critical thinking, even without a ton of words.
This interactive element enhances the reading experience and keeps children engaged.
Your child can make inferences about which animal might be hiding behind each household item by considering the size of the corresponding object. For example, a snake is hiding inside of a tall grandfather clock. This makes sense because a snake is skinny and long, similar to a grandfather clock. It wouldn’t make sense for a moose to be hiding inside of a grandfather clock because it’s too big.
In this book, each flap represents a different household object: a door, a bed, even a piano. Behind every flap is a unique animal. Your child can make inferences about which animal might be hiding by considering the size of the corresponding object.
- Parent: Hey, I noticed a bear is hiding behind that door. Are doors big enough to hide bears? Can you think of another household item a bear could hide behind?
- Child: Bears are pretty big, but I think a door could definitely hide a bear. I think another thing that could hide a bear is a fridge!
- Parent: Oh, yeah because a fridge is pretty big like a bear. What about a vacuum? Could that hide a bear?
- This question pushes your child to really think as a vacuum is not depicted in the book. It will force them to consider the sizing of the animal and object in a goofy way that will hopefully lead to a fit of laughter and a correction from them.
- Child: Of course not! Vacuums are too small to hide bears!
Challenge Question:
- Parent: Would it make sense for a froggy to be behind the door?
- Child: Well, a door would definitely hide a froggy but doors are really big and froggies are really small.
- Parent: So even though a froggy would fit behind the door, what would be a better object to hide one behind?
- Child: Maybe a teacup!
This will encourage your child to think about animals and objects not depicted in the book, making these questions more difficult.
You can continue this conversation by applying these questions to any animal and household object in Where’s Spot?
Story Elements: Best for ages 3-6
Story elements include: characters, setting, plot/story events, conflict, and resolution.
A fundamental story element that can be introduced using this book is setting. The setting is when and where the story takes place.
The best books for toddlers include all of these story elements, but breaking them down into chunks for your child makes learning and understanding them more manageable.
After reading, you and your child can discuss where exactly Where’s Spot? takes place.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: Where does this story take place?
- Child: I think the story takes place in Spot’s house. I think it’s his house because even though there are a lot of animals in the story, Spot’s bowl is there which makes me think he lives there.
- Parent: Yeah! I think so too. Did you notice that the whole story takes place inside of the house? Wouldn’t it be confusing if all the sudden Spot’s mom was on the beach and found a flamingo hiding behind a beach umbrella?
- Be sure to point out that the setting stays consistent throughout the story and that a sudden change in the setting wouldn’t make any sense!
- Child: Yeah, that would be so weird! They have to be in the house to find Spot because he lives in his house and not on the beach!
- Parent: If you could choose a different place for the story to take place, where would that be?
- This question invites your child to get creative and “become the author.” They can choose anywhere they like: school, daycare, outer space, the grocery store, or a jungle.
- Child: I would choose an ocean house for Spot!
- Parent: Oh, interesting! How would the story be different if Spot’s house was in the ocean?
- Child: Well, they’d probably need a snorkel! And also, the animals would be hiding behind different ocean stuff like bubbles, sunken ships, and coral!
- Parent: Oh, right! It’s super important to think about where the story takes place because if it were different, it would change the story completely.
This is a great place to have some fun and be silly with your child. If you say something totally off the wall like, “I think there would be aliens in the ocean with Spot,” this will lead them to correct you with laughter. This is a wonderful way to bond and ensure they are understanding the discussion. If they can identify that aliens wouldn’t be in the ocean but whales would, you know they are getting it.
Setting is a story element that often gets overlooked or taken for granted, but it plays such an important and vital role in stories. Talking about setting on a small scale like this will help your child identify setting in future stories. The best toddler books will have a clear setting making it an easy way to practice a skill like this.
Free Printable!
Use the free printable linked below to match the animals and creatures to their proper setting! Cut out the creatures and paste them next to the setting that makes the most sense for them.
Parts of Speech: Best for ages 2.5-5
Parts of speech are categories of words based on their function in a sentence. Examples of parts of speech are: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Throughout the story, there is one specific part of speech that is prominently featured: prepositions.
Prepositions:
Prepositions are words that tell us where something is or how it relates to other things. For example, in the sentence “The cup is in the sink,” the word “in” tells us where the cup is.
Parts of speech can be tough for little minds, so this activity should be a light introduction. Some of the best toddler books will feature a particular part of speech such as Where’s Spot?, so notice, talk, and practice parts of speech in a developmentally appropriate way.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: Where is the bear on this page?
- Child: Behind the door.
- Parent: Where is the snake on this page?
- Child: In the piano.
This is a rather simple activity, but the goal is to get your child to identify the locations of the animals by using prepositions. Without even realizing it, your child is talking about a complex part of speech in a very informal and relaxed conversation.
For older kids, try introducing prepositional phrases, a group of words starting with a preposition and ending with a noun (a person, place, or thing). In the example above, the entire prepositional phrase is “in the sink.” The sentence would not make sense if you just said, “Your cup is in.” “In” what? A rocket ship? An airplane? A school bus? Try applying this concept as you read with your child.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: The alligator is under the ….
- Child: Bed!
Pause after you reach a preposition and see if he or she can finish the phrase. Your child should be able to use the illustrations to help them do this activity.
This very basic activity will start the foundational understanding of how important it is to end a prepositional phrase with a noun for clarity.
Practicing an intense skill like this on a very small and minimal pressure level will really go a long way in the end.
Expansion Activity: Best for ages 2-6
Well, where is Spot? Set up a game of hide-and-seek using toys from your house to find “Spot.”
If your family is anything like mine, you have a whole horde of stuffed animals. Designate one of the stuffies to be “Spot.” Then choose three to four more stuffies of different sizes to be the other animals from the story and hide them around your house too.
You can adapt this activity a couple of ways depending on your child’s age. When I did this, I provided my two-year-old with explicit commands on where to look using prepositions. I said things like, “Check for Spot under the table. Now check behind the couch. Look on top of the toy chest.” Each statement would lead her to a different hidden animal with the last one being “Spot.” She adores lift-the-flap books, and this game brought them to life for her!
If your child is older, he or she can do the hiding and you can do the seeking. The goal is to use a whole prepositional phrase as a clue. You want to avoid clues like “look under…” and “check on top of…” If your child does this when giving the clues, simply get curious and ask, “On top of what?” This will help them complete the prepositional phrase.
My kids absolutely love hide and seek and this game is kind of like hide and seek, but instead of hiding yourself, you are hiding a stuffed animal and then giving clues about it. Your child will absolutely love feeling in charge and giving you directions.
To really step up the bonding moment, try pretending to be extra confused as you look around the room and “can’t quite find” the animal. Your child will love being the expert and watching you struggle in a silly way. Really play it up by saying something like, “Oh shucks,” every time you go to the wrong spot. It’ll be sure to send them into a fit of laughter.
To Wrap Things Up:
The best toddler books will get your kids engaged, curious, and begging for more. Where’s Spot? may be simple, but it is jam-packed with potential. You and your child will laugh, learn, and explore one flap at a time with this wonderful book for kids. It’s a perfect addition to every child’s library filled with the best toddler books.
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