Not Perfect

From the creators of NOT LITTLE, the intrepid Dot is back with an endearing story about embracing the mistakes that let us build new skills.

Dot is good at a lot of things, but good isn’t perfect. Perfect is her sister’s blue-ribbon painting, or her brothers’ first-place spelling bee trophies, or her mom’s black belt in tae kwon do. Dot tries and tries, but all she has to show for it is funny-looking cupcakes, off-key piano squeaks, and almost-goals in soccer. Nothing she does is perfect.

The poster project is the last straw. Dot and her classmates are to draw a person they admire, and Dot has someone in mind right away: her best friend, Sam. But draft after draft comes out looking all wrong! Dot throws her pencils on the ground and rips the pages into shreds. 

And then she follows a process we all know well: she has a good cry, takes some breaths, and picks up the pieces to start again. It turns out shredded-up drawings can make a pretty good collage. No wonder Sam picked Dot for his project, too! He admires the way she never stops trying. 

Fans of Dot and Sam and new readers alike will melt at this companion to Not Little, featuring Maya Myers’s effortless narrative voice and Hyewon Yum’s irresistible illustrations.