The Pencil [Hardcover]

Allan Ahlberg (Author), Bruce Ingman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: August 12, 2008 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 540L (What's this?)

The creators of THE RUNAWAY DINNER and PREVIOUSLY team up to imagine the comical world that comes to life when a lonely pencil starts to draw.

"One day that little pencil made a move, shivered slightly, quivered somewhat . . . and began to draw."

Welcome back Banjo, the boy from THE RUNAWAY DINNER! Once a pencil draws him, there's no telling what will come next — a dog, a cat, a chase (of course), and a paintbrush to color in an ever-expanding group of family and friends. But it's not long before the complaints begin — "This hat looks silly!" "My ears are too big!" — until the poor pencil has no choice but to draw . . . an eraser. Oh no! In the hands of Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman, can anything but havoc and hilarity ensue?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2—"Once there was a pencil, a lonely little pencil, and nothing else." One day the pencil begins to draw. Before long it has created a world populated with rather cranky individuals, pets, and talking objects that make demands for names, food, companions, etc., and then begin to complain about everything they have received. The pencil tries to be accommodating and creates a paintbrush that adds color, to no avail. It draws an eraser to remove the offending items, which runs amok and erases everything. The pencil then comes up with a clever solution to prevent itself from being eliminated by the out-of-control eraser, and this time creates a more orderly world. This quirky story will appeal to children who have a slightly offbeat sense of humor, and it could easily be paired with Henrik Drescher's equally quirky Simon's Book (McAdam/Cage, 2006). Ingman's acrylic cartoon illustrations use a rich color palette and supply numerous details that complement the story. Not an essential purchase, but fun.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
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Review

Clever and suspenseful...surefire delight.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1ST edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763638943
• ISBN-13: 978-0763638948
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative and fun September 19, 2008

By R. Cole

Format:Hardcover

What a wonderful book! We checked this out from the library and have read it several times this week, at my 4 year old's request. We will be buying it for ourselves and our friends. This book opens up even a small child's imagination and makes them wonder what will happen next. My four year old wanted to draw a story after reading this book. I'll be looking for more books by this author this weekend at the library.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FIRR-Kids! Review November 10, 2008

By www.firrkids.com

Format:Hardcover

This is a definite winner from the team that created The Runaway Dinner. The combination of humorous text, quirky drawn out writing style, and clever illustrations all point to another runaway hit! Many of the same characters reappear from the first book, which is extra fun for the readers.

Once there was a pencil, who loved to draw. He sketches wonderful things - a boy and a dog, a cat for the dog to chase, a house, a family for the little boy and even an entire town. He even draws a paintbrush to make his drawings rich with color. And is everyone happy? No! The pencil is overrun with complaints and must draw an eraser to clean things up.

The eraser starts rubbing away and everyone seems satisfied. Yet rather suddenly he gets too excited and starts erasing all sorts of extra things. Poof! The house and town are gone. The pencil must quickly come up with a plan to stop this eraser and save his own skin, er, graphite.

What a wonderfully imaginative story this is. It's a fun read that will have readers rushing through the pages to find out who will prevail in the end. Whimsical illustrations and a quick wit make the entire book fly by far too quickly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully creative and delightful! August 30, 2011

By Daniel's mom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Both my son and I love this book! It's a very creative story about a lone pencil who draws a world around him that comes to life. It's random humor cracks up my 3-year-old, and I adore the uniqueness of it! Great book, very glad I bought it.