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

by Natascha Biebow, Steven Salerno

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.

  • Format: eBook
  • ISBN-13/ EAN: 9780358063445
  • ISBN-10: 0358063442
  • Pages: 48
  • Publication Date: 03/19/2019
  • Carton Quantity: 1
About the Book
About the Authors
Reviews
  • About the Book
    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! 

     

  • About the Author

    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 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.

    Steven Salerno

    Steven Salerno has illustrated many popular picture books for children, including Brothers at Bat and The Fantastic Ferris Wheel (Holt). A graduate of Parsons School of Design, where he studied under famed author/illustrator Maurice Sendak, Steven's illustrations appear in the New York Times as well as magazines, advertising campaigns, product packaging, and retail interiors. He lives and works in New York City. www.stevensalerno.com

  • Excerpts
  • 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

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