The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

by Natascha Biebow, Steven Salerno (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrating the inventor of the Crayola crayon! This gloriously illustrated picture book biography tells the inspiring story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of one of the world's most beloved toys. A perfect fit among favorites like The Day the Crayons Quit and Balloons Over Broadway.

purple mountains’ majesty, mauvelous, jungle green, razzmatazz…

What child doesn't love to hold a crayon in their hands?  But children didn't always have such magical boxes of crayons.  Before Edwin Binney set out to change things, children couldn't really even draw in color.

Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to children – in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world’s most enduring, best-loved childhood toys – empowering children to dream in COLOR!
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328866844
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	142,226
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	960L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Natascha Biebow’s favorite crayon color is periwinkle blue because it makes her heart sing. She loves to draw and make stuff, just like Edwin Binney. She lives in London, where writes, edits, coaches and mentors children’s book authors and illustrators at Blue Elephant Storyshaping, and is the long-time Regional Advisor of SCBWI British Isles. This is her first non-fiction picture book. Find her at nataschabiebow.com.

Steven Salerno has illustrated many popular picture books for children, including Brothers at Bat and The Fantastic Ferris Wheel.  He lives and works in New York City.

www.stevensalerno.com



 

Editorial Reviews

01/07/2019

It’s easy to take today’s ubiquitous colored crayons for granted, but they were the result of one individual’s innovation. Biebow introduces Edwin Binney—a mustachioed man and head of a carbon black factory—who wished to make color-pigmented wax crayons that reflected the world outside. Salerno’s illustrations reflect the formality of the era, which he playfully disrupts with splashes of color: in one spread, a line of pigment-spattered workers end a day of crayon experimentation. Readers are likely to be fascinated by the process of “grinding, grinding, grinding up rocks and minerals into fine powders” and the rich colors that result. Back matter is attention-grabbing as well, with photographs of crayon production today. Ages 6–9. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"British author Biebow's first nonfiction picture book flows with conversational smoothness....The attractive full-page—and, accordingly, brightly colorful—illustrations mix realism and whimsy in Salerno's recognizable style."–Booklist

"A colorful addition to the shelves of picture books about inventors and inventions and all things STEAM."–School Library Journal

"Readers are likely to be fascinated."–Publishers Weekly

"In this chatty, engaging picture book, Biebow provides the historical context around the invention of Crayola crayons....What [Caldecott Medalist] Jon Klassen achieves emotionally in his characters' eyes, Salerno manages with eyebrows here."–Kirkus

"Biebow conveys just how revolutionary this now-mundane product was at its inception....Salerno’s illustrations of the Binney and Smith workforce, marching around the factory in color-splotched overalls and pursuing their experiments with the zeal of alchemists, keep the visual excitement building."–The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

02/01/2019

Gr 1–4–For many children, crayons are ubiquitous, everyday items, but as this informational picture book attests, that wasn't always the case. The hero of this tale is Edwin Binney, American businessman and inventor. In the early 1900s, Binney (who'd already pioneered dustless chalk for teachers) listened to his customers and family when they clamored for a new product: inexpensive, easy-to-use crayons for children. After a lot of messy experimentation with various materials and colors—aspiring scientists and makers may feel a surge of recognition—Binney finally struck the "top-secret formula" that eventually became Crayola crayons. Indeed, the scenes in which Binney and his team wind up covered in splotches of experimental powdered pigment stand out among Salerno's winsome, earnestly old-fashioned illustrations (which are rendered in a Crayola-inspired palette, of course). Inset text boxes on several spreads provide scientific and historical context without disrupting the narrative, and back matter includes a bibliography, biographical facts about Binney, and a photographic guide to "How Crayola Crayons Are Made Today." VERDICT A colorful addition to the shelves of picture books about inventors and inventions and all things STEAM.—Rebecca Honeycutt, NoveList, Durham, NC

School Library Journal

2018-12-05

Through persistent experimentation Edward Binney gave children a cheap and safe coloring medium.

In this chatty, engaging picture book, Biebow provides the historical context around the invention of Crayola crayons. The story covers the media predecessors (breakable, often poisonous artists' crayons; clay) that were the basis for the Crayola and the trial-and-error process Binney undertook to create a safe, colorful product that children from diverse economic backgrounds could afford. Such visual cues as boldface type for the names of colors throughout the story aid readers in recognizing the colors that Binney developed and that they might encounter in their own crayon boxes. Biebow moves past the invention to recognize the impact this product has had on childhood worldwide. Salerno brings readers close to the story through his illustrations, right onto the lab table where Binney and his team (both impressively mustachioed men and women, all white) developed the crayon. What Jon Klassen achieves emotionally in his characters' eyes, Salerno manages with eyebrows here. He uses crayon pencils for the bulk of the work; children's pictures in a couple of later spreads are done, appropriately enough, with Crayolas. A well-organized bibliography with both primary and secondary sources, including interviews with Binney's great-granddaughter, is supplemented by text boxes throughout the book that offer additional informational snippets such as the composition of Crayola's pigments.

A suitably colorful introduction to the life of a person whose name readers may not know but whose invention they all use. (factory snapshots, author's note) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews

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