Spot's Preschool: A Pop-Up and Play Book

I found this gem of a book in the bargain bin at a local bookstore and what a find! My 2.5 year-old daughter absolutely adores Spot and we have many titles in our collection, though this has become our personal favorite. Spot's Preschool Pop-Up and Play Book consists of 3 stand-up scenes of Spot's preschool, including two indoor scenes [classroom, playroom] and one outdoor scene [garden, playground]. There are numerous tabs to pull and flaps to lift and look under. The bonus of course is the over 20 press-out pieces that can be used for imaginative play. My little one is quite content to just sit and act out little stories with Spot and his friends [Steve the monkey, Helen the hippo, and Tom the alligator]. All in all, great value for the money, and priceless in encouraging imaginative play.

We spotted this book in the bargain bin at Borders, and it was well worth the $3.99 we paid and then some. Spot was a familiar character to my son, so we figured, heck another Spot story is fine. But this is more than a story book: it's a cleverly-designed four-page pop-up book which you tie with a ribbon on the back to create a four-room "preschool" for your child to play with. (One of the rooms is "outside".) There's also included cut-out paper figures and toys for the figures to play with, including all of Spot's friends: Helen, Steve, and Tom. The neat thing about this was my son, who was a little lukewarm on the concept of school, really got into using the figurines to do a lot of pretend activities (there's an easel, a piano, playsets, a "motor room", and so forth) and was positively lobbying to go to preschool after a couple of days. This seems to be out of print at present writing, but it may indeed be the best spot ever. If you can find a copy for your 2-4 year old who already knows Spot, grab it, or stash it for the younger child just in case it's not available anymore when they're old enough for it.

We have read many of the Spot books, and this is the greatest addition to our Spot library. My two youngest children (ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2) can act out Spot's adventures on their own. I see them retelling the stories...and making up their own! I like that there are many different types of play (playground, art room, play room) and pieces for each. My children can play together, yet they have no need to fight over the book since there are places to play all around the book/playset, unlike traditional pop-up books. I love the pocket on the back to store the pieces. Everything is kept together in one place.