OUR STORY

Books are a doorway to language and learning for children, whether it's listening to someone reading expressively, learning new facts, spotting detail in an illustration, being exposed to new language or recognising words on a page. These are all stepping stones for children to become confident readers and writers themselves. At Dotters we recognise the value of engaging texts that capture the imagination of a child. Therefore, we aim to create books that enable children to use their imagination, learn new things and increase their skills as a reader and a writer. 

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Here is a note from our founder: 

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It was right at the start of my teaching career (of over 20 years) that I realised the importance of books for children on many different levels. Books demonstrate how text can look on a page, teach us new facts, and constantly expose us to new language. 

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The curriculum is enormous and I soon discovered that a cross-curricular approach not only meant that I could teach more than one subject at once (it is only us as adults that categorise learning into subject areas) but it becomes much more meaningful. For example, children would much rather write a real letter asking for information about castles, instead of just completing a letter writing task in their exercise book and squeezing in a separate history lesson. The children are writing for a purpose so they are much more likely to try their best. 

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Throughout my teaching career I always loved reading stories to the class. Even the wriggliest of classes will sit still to listen to an exciting and engaging book. I learnt over time the elements of a story that children like best. They love adventure stories, they love stories that they can join in with and they love stories with an element of anticipation as you turn the page. With this knowledge and realising the need for more picture books that tied effectively into Key Stage 1 subject areas, I had the foundations for my books. 

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On my journey as an author, I discovered that traditional publishers often have a very strict criteria for picture books and self-publishing routes could not deliver the consistent quality I wanted. This meant that in order for me to create the books I felt there was a need for, I had to set up my own publishing company. Therefore, Dotters Publishing was born (Why the name? In my first teaching role I sometimes wore red sparkly pumps and was quickly known as 'Dotters' after Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz!)

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It is my hope that the Dotters books engage children, tap into their imaginations, teach them new things and build their confidence as readers and writers. 

 

Naomi Joslyn