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:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Pages:	48
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 she 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. The Crayon Man is her first non-fiction picture book. Find her at nataschabiebow.com.

New York City–based Steven Salerno is the illustrator of nearly forty popular and award-winning picture books, five of which he also wrote, including Tim’s Goodbye; The Corner of Chocolate Avenue: How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America by Tziporah Cohen; and The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow. He is also the illustrator of the recent series of Madeline books, which he created in the classic style of Ludwig Bemelmans. Steven’s books have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a NCSS Notable Children's Book and have been awarded the IRA/CBC Children’s Choice Young Reader Medal, the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, and the Garden State Book Award, among other accolades. Many have also been chosen as Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections and translated into languages around the world. Visit stevensalerno.com.

Editorial Reviews

"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

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