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

by Natascha Biebow (Author) Steven Salerno (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

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!

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Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

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.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

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

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"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
Natascha Biebow
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

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781328866844
Lexile Measure
960
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
March 20, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Science & Technology
JNF061010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | Inventions
JNF006000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Art | General
JNF010000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Business & Economics
Library of Congress categories
Biographies
United States
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiograp
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Boys & Men
Crayons
Industrialists
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Technology / Inventions
Binney, Edwin
Binney & Smith Co
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Business & Economics

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