The Dot

 
　　美術課已經下課了，但是Vashti仍然坐在她的椅子上，她的圖畫紙上一片空白。老師看見空白的圖畫紙之後，要Vashti隨便在上面畫個記號，Vashti於是照辦，然後老師要她在上面簽上名字。過了一個星期，Vashti在美術教室看見上次畫的那一幅畫不但被裱上外框還被掛在牆上。看著這幅畫的Vashti心想自己可以畫得比這幅畫更好，於是她拿起了塵封已久的水彩，開始畫各種顏色的小點，然後又混合不同顏色的水彩畫出另一種顏色的小點，小點畫得不過癮的Vashti開始畫大點，最後甚至以不是點的形狀來創作出一個大點。幾個星期之後，學校的美術展展出了Vashti的作品，而且還頗受好評。有個小男孩對Vashti表示自己連直線都畫不好。聽了這一番話的Vashti要男孩畫給她看，Vashti一看，紙張上有條扭曲的線條，於是她對男孩說……
 
　　平實的故事與簡單的插畫構成了這本給人無比信心的書。書中的主角原本對自己很沒自信，認為自己不會畫畫而自暴自棄。幸好她遇見了一位好老師，以另類的方式來鼓勵她作畫，並且給她機會表現，增加她的自信心。當然也得靠積極向上的主角能夠一步一步地往前邁進而且越來越進步。最後她甚至以自身的經驗來鼓勵和她有相同遭遇的人。
 

　　With a simple, witty story and free-spirited illustrations, Peter H. Reynolds entices even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark — and follow where it takes us.

　　Her teacher smiled. "Just make a mark and see where it takes you."

　　Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can’t draw - she’s no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says.

　　That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds’s delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us.

Peter H. Reynolds is the New York Times best-selling illustrator of the Judy Moody and Stink series written by Megan McDonald. He is also the creator of several picture books for children, including Ish, Sky Color, The North Star, and So Few of Me. The president and creative director of FableVision, Peter H. Reynolds was born in Canada and now lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.