The Pencil

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?

Publishers Weekly

Both clever and suspenseful, this surefire delight tells the story of a pencil who must deal with the consequences of his inventions. The pencil begins by drawing a boy (Banjo from Ahlberg and Ingman's The Runaway Dinner), a dog and a cat-and their world soon expands dramatically (and colorfully, thanks to Kitty, a paintbrush the pencil creates). Complaints start to surface (" 'I shouldn't be smokinga pipe,' said a grandpa"), but the pencil's solution-an eraser-runs rampant and tries to rub out everything, including the pencil. Ingman exuberantly conveys the joy of both construction and destruction-in one scene, animals and people flee on foot, bicycle and skateboard as the eraser wipes away the spare, yellow background. The book's comical, unexpected plot and wry narrator keep the story fresh throughout-a running joke involves each of the pencil's creations insisting on a name; those the pencil provides are largely nonsensical (the endpapers are filled with additional items-a bike named Augusta, a cuckoo clock named William). Tranquility reigns by book's end, but young readers are sure to be absorbed in finding out what happens next as the pencil draws his way out of one predicament after another. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

Allan Ahlberg is the acclaimed author of numerous picture books, including PREVIOUSLYand THE RUNAWAY DINNER. His other books include THE SHOPPING EXPEDITION and THE BABY IN THE HAT, both illustrated by André Amstutz, and the popular Jolly Postman series. He lives in Bath, England.

Bruce Ingman is the award-winning illustrator of PREVIOUSLY and THE RUNAWAY DINNER, as well as BOING! by Sean Taylor. He lives in London.