When Pencil Met Eraser

by Karen Kilpatrick, Luis O. Ramos Jr., German Blanco (Illustrator)

Overview

Named one of the “Best Children’s Books of 2019” by Parents magazine, this funny, clever picture book tells the true story of how Pencil and Eraser became the best of friends.

When Pencil draws on the pages of this book, Eraser erases parts of Pencil’s work, and the book itself becomes a canvas for their different takes on creativity—until the two discover their artwork is even better when they work together.

From Karen Kilpatrick, Luis O. Ramos, Jr., and illustrator Germán Blanco, When Pencil Met Eraser brings to life something kids use every day at school and at home. Engaging art, adorable characters, and a clever ending create a memorable message about friendship and creativity.

An Imprint Book

"An imaginative and engaging look into artistic possibility." —Kirkus Reviews

“Readers young and old alike will love this imagining of the dynamic duo that is Pencil and Eraser.” —School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250309396
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	05/28/2019
Series:	When Pencil Met Eraser
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	97,438
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Karen Kilpatrick has been telling and writing stories for as long as she can remember. A former attorney who left the legal industry for the toy industry, she is also the author of the Pumpkinheads children's book series and cocreator with her two daughters of the toy brand, MeBears. She lives in South Florida with her three kids.

Luis Osvaldo Ramos, Jr. was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and graduated from University of Central Florida and University of Miami Law. He's an attorney at law and a kid at heart who practices law during the day and writes and consumes stories in his free time. He and his wife currently live in South Florida with their very cute but very demanding orange cat.

Germán Blanco has been using pencils all his life. Erasers, too. He unknowingly began his artistic career as a kid by doodling in school whenever he was bored. (Sorry, Mom!) He later became a graphic designer but he found his passion in illustration. When he’s not drawing, he enjoys watching movies and playing football (AKA soccer).

Editorial Reviews

Named one of the “Best Children’s Books of 2019” by Parents magazine!

Included on the 2020 ILA/CBC Childrens’ Choices Reading List!

"An imaginative and engaging look into artistic possibility." —Kirkus Reviews

“Readers young and old alike will love this imagining of the dynamic duo that is Pencil and Eraser.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/01/2019

K-Gr 2—Pencil and Eraser may be inseparable now, but that was not always the case. From the beginning of the story, Pencil is obsessed with drawing and loves working alone. Enter Eraser: a happy-go-lucky companion who sees Pencil's drawings and does what Eraser does best: erase! While Eraser believes that the select removal of some of Pencil's work makes the picture better, Pencil does not agree. Their disagreements continue until one day, Pencil, like everyone does at one point or another, makes a mistake. This mistake makes Pencil realize the potential of Eraser, and it changes the course of the book. A silly, relatable story about friendship and the importance of collaboration, readers young and old alike will love this imagining of the dynamic duo that is Pencil and Eraser. Using a blend of pencil drawings and computer generated imagery, every page provides delightful stimulation both for one-on-one readers and for larger audiences. Each character has a unique font and, due to the nature of charcoal on paper, the characters are the only parts of the page in color. VERDICT This is a fun and enjoyable story to add to library and storytime shelves.—Mary Lanni, Denver Public Library

School Library Journal

2019-03-17
Opposing art implements must learn to coexist in the same space and create together as one adds while the other subtracts.

Change is hard, especially for Pencil. The solitary graphite artist who "loved to draw" finds his worldview challenged when Eraser comes into the picture and uses negative space to complicate the drawings. Believing art can happen only when you add to the image, Pencil has a hard time playing well with others and accepting the notion that, sometimes, less is more. In contrast, ever gleeful Eraser sees potential and beauty in removing. When Pencil challenges Eraser to create art from his chaotic lines, Eraser deftly gives Pencil something he cannot resist: a maze. Eraser's creativity opens Pencil to the possibility that, perhaps, there might be more to art than making lines on a paper. The two become fast friends as the potential for their creativity doubles when combining forces. Debut illustrator Blanco creates endearing endpapers that serve as mirrors to the story. Although this is a creative concept, it comes after Max Amato's Perfect (2019), which covers similar conceptual territory. However, through Kilpatrick and Ramos' text, Pencil and Eraser entangle in a deeper dialogue than Amato's implements do, and further potential for disaster—or so Pencil would think—is humorously foreshadowed by more art utensils coming into the picture.

An imaginative and engaging look into artistic possibility. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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