Read All About It: Pencil makes point to eraser in kids book – The Florida Times-Union

WHEN PENCIL MET ERASER

Authors: Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos Jr.

Illustrator: German Blanco

Macmillan Imprint, $17.99, ages 4 to 9

The straight-ahead plot of When Pencil Met Eraser highlights the relationship between two inanimate objects that can talk. They tell a lively and multi-layered story.

Once there was a pencil who loved to draw. Pencil liked to work alone. (See? Classic opening, right?)

The black-and-white illustrations that accompany these sentences feature an elaborate skyline with office towers, standard issue government structures and apartment buildings with arched windows.

Enter Eraser with his irreverent voice: Whatcha doin? Eraser jumps right into the drawing and does what he does. After working on the upper-left corner of the cityscape, he proclaims, Look! Now you can see the sky.

Pencil grumbles and pontificates, Leave the art to the artist. Undaunted, Eraser urges, Lets do another one. Pencil keeps drawing. Readers see a meadow full of flowers with broad petals. Eraser creates a meandering path right through the center. Next, Pencil draws a skiff navigating high seas. With a little help from Eraser, waves recede and smooth sailing commences. So it goes. Pencil creates a dark, dense forest, and Eraser removes some of the heavier graphite shading to allow for stargazing.

The charm of the book is its simplicity. With fewer words than there are in this review, the authors create characters with distinctive personalities who teach a valuable lesson about the joys of collaboration. And, there is a twist. It is not giving away too much to say that the cliffhanger showcases a curious gaggle that includes a pen, a crayon, a paintbrush and a ruler.

Be sure to have pencils (and erasers) at the ready so youngsters can replicate the concept they learn in the book. Imagine the creations.

NOTABLE SEPTEMBER RELEASES

Beloved author and illustrator Jan Bretts fall release, The Tale of the Tiger Slippers (G.P. Putnamss Sons, $18.99; ages 5 to 10) is set in India. The story re-tells a folktale, Abu Kassems Slippers. A poor cubs mother fashions him some sturdy slippers to protect his feet while he makes bricks and builds houses. Tigers hard work and dedication lead to wealth, but he continues to wear his battered slippers. When others ask why, Tiger tries to rid himself of the slippers, but they keep returning. Brett did her usual extensive research to create the story and its impressively detailed illustrations. Her travels included stops at Banhavgarh, Kanha and Panna national parks to study wild tigers. The countryside was beautiful, often revealing a venerable shrine or crumbling fort, resembling a primal forest rather than a jungle. The ancientness and complexity of the culture seemed to be begging for storytelling, Brett stated in a news release.

Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party by Kimberly and James Dean (HarperCollins, $17.99; ages 4 to 8). The best-selling gang that relays adventures in groovy, rollicking rhymes is back. What a perfect way to practice beginning letter sounds (pepperoni, pretzels, pistachios, pickles, popcorn and papaya) as Pete, Callie, Gus, Grumpy Toad, Alligator and Squirrel offer a subtle lesson about cooperation amid trademark over-the-top and festive atmosphere. Dont miss the endpapers where the creators offer one last laugh with vividly depicted toppings for pizza. Beside the usual mushrooms, peppers and olives, check out the watermelon, ketchup, egg, fish, sweet pea, baked beans and rock options. Oh, and there is chocolate, too.

Two-time Newbery medalist Kate DiCamillo released Beverly, Right Here (Candlewick Press, $16.99 ages 10 and older). It is the third book in her series that focuses on friends who refer to themselves as The Three Rancheros. The first was Raymie Nightingale. The second was Louisianas Way Home. Now, readers hear from Beverly Tapinski. Once again, the difficult theme of parental abandonment surfaces, and once again the moving story leaves readers feeling inspired by triumph exhibited in the toughest of situations. DiCamillo is the National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature and now has more than 30 million books in print around the world.

In case you missed it, another of DiCamillos books, A Piglet named Mercy, (Candlewick Press, $18.99) arrived earlier in the summer. This picture book tells the origin story of Mercy Watson, the title character in DiCamillos popular chapter books, which includes six titles, plus a spin-off collection of four books in the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series, aimed at readers ages 6 to 9. Mercy, the porcine heroine, finds all kind of adventures involving disguises, grumpy neighbors, car trips, and of course, a lot of buttered toast.

Brandy Hilboldt Allport writes Read All About It, a children book review column for the Florida Times-Union. She can be reached at brandysbookmarks1@outlook.com.

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Read All About It: Pencil makes point to eraser in kids book - The Florida Times-Union