Kokua Academy, the Hawaii Kieki Museum and the Hawaii Public Library will join over 26 million children and adults around the globe in 200 countries and sovereign territories to celebrate International Dot Day on Sept. 15. International Dot Day, a grassroots “creativity and courage” movement started in 2009 by a teacher in Iowa, was inspired by New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds’ storybook “The Dot.”
There will be readings of “The Dot” at the Hawaii Keiki Museum at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon and 1 p.m. There will also be crafts for all ages to take part in from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, make-your-own mark stations will be set up beforehand at the Kelakekua Libary and the Keiki Museum in the weeks leading up to the Dot Day Festivities
International Dot Day invites young and old to embrace the power of personal creativity to help make their mark on the world and move it to a better place.
“The Dot is an invitation to students to be creative and experience a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing,” said Shay, a public school teacher for over two decades. “Every great teacher works for those transformational moments.”
Exploring the themes of creativity, bravery, and self-expression, “The Dot” is a story of a caring teacher who reaches out to a reluctant student who thinks she can’t draw by encouraging her to be brave enough to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.”
A copy of “The Dot” was even rocketed into space and read by Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield, who served as commander aboard the International Space Station. The book’s author and illustrator explains, “Commander Hadfield snapped a few photos of ‘The Dot’ book floating in the cupola of the space station. On his last day of his recent Boston visit, he handed me my book, which he had signed, noting that this copy … had made 2,500 trips around the big blue dot –
planet Earth.”
For more information about International Dot Day, visit www.internationaldotday.org. For the official Dot Day Twitter feed, follow @DotClubConnect. Find International Dot Day on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InternationalDotDay.