connect-the-dots

[Zitin, Abigail]

 For what it's worth: my mother reminded me that when I was little (early 80s) we called connect-the-dot puzzles "dot-to-dots". I searched this on the Proquest NY Times backfile, and found a racehorse named "Dot to Dot" in the 1960s, and a display ad for a "dot to dot" Wamsutta sheet pattern in 1974. I can't tell whether these examples reflect the name of the children's game, or not, though I imagine the one from 1974 does (why else would "dot to dot" be a clever name for polka-dotted sheets?).

 I found the following on Questia:

1961 William M. Cruickshank, ed. _A Teaching Method for Brain-injured and Hyperactive Children: A Demonstration-pilot Study_ chapter IV p. 203
If numbers are among his strong points, a dot-to-dot puzzle may help.

There follows an image of a connect-the-dots game.

Best,

Abigail Zitin