Eric Hill, creator of Spot the Dog, dies at 86

AP via Yahoo ^ | June 12, 2014 | Channing Joseph

[EveningStar]

Eric Hill, whose effort to entertain his young son with a simple drawing of a mischievous dog named Spot blossomed into a popular series of children's books that have sold more than 60 million copies, has died at his home in central California. He was 86.

[EveningStar]

Wikipedia

[Skooz]

RIP. I read Spot books to both of my daughters. Had some videos, too. They have a sweetness and kindness that is engaging and endearing.

[Gefn]

I remember these books R.I. P.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Damn..great childhood memories reading that book..RIP

[Roos_Girl]

My 2 year old gets two stories every night before bedtime, at least one of them must be Spot.

[Swede Girl]

So sorry to learn of Eric Hill's passing. Spot is a favorite in our home. Innocent, sweet, clever, .......so perfect for the very young. We have the books, DVD’s, and stuffed figures. A child is lucky if he has parents who make sure that Spot is in the nursery library.

Spot books, etc. are not easy to find in stores these days, but they are found on ebay for those who are searching.

[Joe 6-pack]

WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

[AppyPappy]

So sad. Our kids loved Spot.

[higgmeister]

First published in 1980, Where's Spot was inspired by the reaction of Eric's two-year-old son to an advert in which lifting the flap revealed a funny picture and to a bedtime story made up to go along with it. This is not the reading books we remember from earlier years.

[raccoonradio]

That was probably this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_jane

>>Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular basal readers written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp[1] and published by Scott Foresman, that were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States...The main characters, Dick and Jane, were a little boy and girl. Supporting characters included Baby (or Sally), Mother, Father, Spot (originally a cat in the 1930s, but a dog in later editions), Puff the cat, and Tim the teddy bear.

[higgmeister]

That’s it.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[itssme]

Wonderful memories of learning to read, learning to love the books in our grade school library and our local library in my neighborhood. Dick, Jane & Spot were sweet memories of the wonderful times in which I lived during the late 40s and early 50s as a child. God help the children of today.

[raccoonradio]

I can’t remember whether or not I read these—I was born in 1962—but I had heard of them... “see Spot run; run, Spot run” etc. Maybe I did. The one mentioned above, as it says, debuted in 1980...the year I started college...

Growing up with few channels on TV and no internet, I wound up going to my library and checking out the children’s section, then the adult section. I know I liked the books by Walter Brooks that featured Freddie the pig, etc. (Those went back to the 30s I think).

[the OlLine Rebel]

No, that is Dick & Jane. Much older than this guy could’ve handled.

Dick & Jane really is wonderful. My mother bought a re-issue compilation of them the Christmas before last for my son when he was 4. He LOVED them, and while we always read to him every night, these made it easy for HIM to learn and read, by repetition. He obsessed on it for 4 months, could read the whole thing by then, and suddenly he seemed to be reading ANYthing! (No, we never pushed him - my mother the teacher is also of the opinion that often people push kids too much when they will learn it anyway.)

[the OlLine Rebel]

Right, they are not the same.

I don’t know who this author is or his dog. And I was 10 at that time.

[itssme]

Oh the thrill of learning to read, and discovering new worlds and hours of enjoyment. You're right in that one doesn't have to push reading upon anyone. It's all a matter of introducing a book, and letting the child go from there. I remember as a child in the last 40s, when my mother took us to see the wonderful new Walt Disney film, Cinderella at a theater in downtown Chicago. Immediately afterward, we went to Marshal Field's, the large, grand department store, where we went to the Children's book section, and I was able to pick up one of the most beautifully illustrated books that I had ever seen, and the title was “Cinderella.” I've kept that book to this day..they don't make books like that any more. I also remember as a young child when my aunt gave me a book on the encyclopedia of dogs, and then a book on astronomy, and I was hooked on books for life. Nice memories...I'm so glad your son loves to read.