Holwitz's pop-philosophy debut echoes the tale of incompleteness and fulfillment told in Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece. The Big Blue Spot is a round dollop of cerulean ink: "It doesn't do much./ Spots never do./ It spends each day/ just being blue." Blue turns out to be a color as well as a mood, for the spot opens its eyes (stenciled in its center, to make a face) and addresses the reader in a melancholy way. " 'Excuse me,'/ it says. Its mouth opens white./ 'Would you tip this book/ just a bit to the right?' " Like a disk of wet paint, the spot begins to slide, creating a horizontal blue streak across the pages. In blue print, the spot wonders, "Am I the only spot in this book?/ If I am, then I am,/ but I'd still like to look." Its slippery progress continues until it encounters a bright yellow blotch, which says hello in a corresponding yellow type. The reader enables the spots to make each other's acquaintance ("You hold up the book, and close it a little.../ And those two big spots/ drip right toward the middle"). At the finale, the blue and yellow spots are united, with an overlapping midsection of grassy green. Their "thank you," spoken in unison, is printed in green, too. Holwitz explores togetherness through the satisfying color-wheel device and the request for reader participation and empathy. Cynics may find the spots' romance rather soppy, but sentimental friends and family members will appreciate the expression of unity. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)
