I had the same teacher for second and fourth grade: Mrs. Cooper. When she wrote her name on the chalkboard, she turned the double O’s into the eyes of a smiley face. Her favorite word was cooperation. In fourth grade every student wrote a story, which we sent away to be “published;” it came back laminated with a spiral binding. I wrote my story about a beached whale named Meiko (pronounced MEE-ko). We made illustrations for our books out of dyed paper we made in art class. I put little whales on every page. During parent-teacher night, Mrs. Cooper told my parents that she loved my book because I always “put a little something special” into my stories.

Which in hindsight was a funny thing to say to the parents of a student who wrote a story about a beached whale, but my parents relayed that feedback to me and I remember feeling special. I was good at telling stories. I always put in a little something special – that was my mark.

Dot Day feels special this year too. An international celebration of creativity inspired by FableVision founder Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot, the worldwide phenomenon encourages people to make their mark and celebrate it! FableVision is celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, so we’ve been a little nostalgic. It got me thinking about who inspired me to make my mark. And there was Mrs. Cooper with her seasonal sweaters, encouraging smile, and her love of cooperation.

This year at FableVision, we decided to pay tribute to the people who have helped us make our mark. Each dot that you’ll see from our team commemorates all those who have helped us reach our creative potential and continue to inspire us every day. Be it teacher, friend, parent, celebrity, historian, or creative thinker, we hope that our dots inspire you to make a dot for your creative mentor and muse.