Welcome to Dot and Moon
Reading ten minutes a night. Here is what it does
Reading together is one of the best-studied gifts a small child can get. The Dotje Method is how we turn that research into every Dot & Moon book: one story, their face on every page, built to be read a hundred times.
Approved by professionals who work with little ones
Moniek Jansen
Child psychologist
“What I check first is the wobbly page: is the scared moment named, is the child allowed to feel it, and is there a small step and a second try? Here at Dot and Moon, yes.”
Ivy Smith
Logopedist
“I read every line out loud the way a tired parent would at eight in the evening. If it trips the tongue, or leaves no room to pause before the rhyme, it goes back to the writers.”
What the studies found
What reading aloud does for a child
Three things the research agrees on. Each one names how many children took part.
Words
In 19 trials with 2,594 children, being read picture books gave children more spoken words. The gain is biggest when you read often and ask questions as you go.
In our books: Animal Adventure gives one new word per page and shows it in the picture: joey, pouch, pride, trunk.
Sleep
Children with the same bedtime routine every night fall asleep faster and sleep longer, in a survey of more than 10,000 young children. The routine does the work. A story is the easiest part of one.
In our books: Every book ends the same way: home, bed, goodnight. "I snuggle my goat and close my eyes. / I dream of trucks of every size." (Monster Truck Rally, page 27)
Feelings
When you stop and ask "How does she feel? Why?", your child learns the words for feelings. Toddlers whose parents did this over a picture book helped and shared more afterwards.
In our books: "My knees feel like jelly. My voice feels small." (Superstar on Stage, page 19)
Why our books are built this way
How we build every book, and why
Six rules behind every book, each with a page that shows it. The pages are from our sample books for Emma and Leo. In your book it is your child's face and name.
Made to be read a hundred times
One refrain comes back on four pages, so by night two your child says it with you.
In our books: "Mango says, "Emma, that's easy for me!"" (Animal Adventure, pages 8, 12, 16 and 20).
Because: Children remember new words from a story they hear again and again, not from many different stories.
Horst, Parsons & Bryan 2011; Williams & Horst 2014.
Their real face, their name called out loud
The child from your photo is on every page, and the characters say their name, so they hear it called.
In our books: "Bumper shouts, "Leo, me too!"" (Monster Truck Rally, page 6).
Because: A small study suggests children pay more attention and remember more from pages that are about them.
Kucirkova, Messer & Sheehy 2014; Kotaman & Balcı 2025.
Rhymes you can finish together
Two short lines per page. The last word is easy to guess, so pause and let them say it.
In our books: "A sloth hangs upside down in a tree. / Mango says, "Emma, that's easy for ___!"" (Animal Adventure, page 8).
Because: A pause before the rhyme word helped 3- to 5-year-olds remember new words. Rhyme makes them want the book again. It does not teach reading.
Read et al. 2014, 2019 and 2022.
A wobbly page, a breath, a second try
The child feels something hard, names it, does one small thing to cope, and tries again.
In our books: "My tummy feels wobbly. I'm scared at the gate. / I hug Mallow close, and I breathe, and I wait." (The Little Ghost, page 17).
Because: Naming a feeling and showing a way through it helps a preschooler more than "it's not real".
Cantor; Leonard et al. 2017; Brownell et al. 2013.
Praise for what they did
The goodnight line and the prize name the act, never the trait.
In our books: "You stopped to help. Here's the Big Heart Cup!" (Monster Truck Rally, page 22).
Because: 4-year-olds praised for being "a good drawer" coped worse with mistakes than children told they "did a good job drawing".
Cimpian et al. 2007; Gunderson et al. 2013.
The last pages get quiet
Slower, warmer, dimmer. Every book ends at home, in bed, with a goodnight.
In our books: "Mom sings a lullaby by my bed. / She whispers, "Emma, rest your sleepy head."" (Superstar on Stage, page 26).
Because: The sleep evidence belongs to a bedtime routine that is the same every night. The book is the easiest part of one.
Mindell et al. 2009 and 2015.
Made with care, at every step
-
Carefully selected materials
We choose exclusively high-quality, child-friendly materials that are made to last.
-
Made with love
Our skilled artisans bring every design to life with thoughtful, personal touches.
-
Printed near you
Thick matte paper, square hardcover or softcover, printed in your own region. No customs, no waiting on a boat.
