The Chalk Box Kid

by Clyde Robert Bulla, Thomas B. Allen (Illustrator)

Overview

A classroom favorite about the power of art and creativity.
 
A new neighborhood. A new school. A lonely birthday. Life isn’t easy for nine-year-old Gregory. Then he finds an abandoned chalk factory behind his house. It’s a secret place, just for him! Now he can draw anything he imagines on the dark brick walls. What amazing thing will Gregory draw first?
 
Two beloved classics—The Chalk Box Kid and The Paint Brush Kid—get a vibrant new look!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780394891026
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/12/1987
Series:	A Stepping Stone Book(TM): A Stepping Stone Book Fiction
Edition description:	ANN
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	110,115
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 7.56(h) x 0.16(d)
Lexile:	510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Clyde Robert Bulla (1914–2007) was born on a farm near King City, Missouri. He went to a one-room country school. Reading and writing were his favorite subjects, and by the time he was seven, Bulla knew he wanted to be a writer. After years of writing magazine stories and novels and working on his hometown newspaper, he found that he really wanted to write for children. More than 70 of his books for boys and girls have been published.

Thomas B. Allen (1928–2004) was an American expressionist painter and illustrator known for his role in the rise of visual journalism in the 1950s and 1960s. Later in his career, he began illustrating children’s books such as The Chalk Box Kid, In Coal Country, and Grandma’s General Store: The Ark.

Editorial Reviews

Bulla's addition to the new Stepping Stone series opens as Gregory's family moves to a smaller house in a poorer part of town; the father has lost his factory job. There is no yard at the new house in which to play, but Gregory explores a nearly burnt-out building that formerly was a chalk factory. Gregory finds plenty of chalk in the debris as he cleans up, and the artist in him soars. Even though the kids at the new school don't accept him readily, Gregory is happyfor him the blackened walls of the building become his giant canvas. Bulla has created a gem of a book, without a wasted word anywhere. He conveys the yearning and passion of a young artist and the healing power of friendship in a story that goes straight to the heart. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 7-9. (October)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly