My Pencil and Me

by Sara Varon

Overview

Sara Varon's My Pencil and Me is a playful picture book that’s perfect for young artists, writers, and makers—especially if they struggle with confidence or writer's block.

Sara loves to draw and tell stories, but sometimes it can be difficult to get started. What if she doesn't have any good ideas or her drawings turn out terrible?!

Lucky for Sara, she has a friend who is always by her side—her pencil. With a little help from Pencil, Sara learns it's okay if her story isn't perfect, as long as she's using her imagination and having fun.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250808165
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Sara Varon is a graphic novelist and children’s book author/illustrator living in Chicago. She is the author of Robot Dreams, which has been adapted into an Oscar-nominated animated feature film. Her other books include Odd Duck, Bake Sale, New Shoes, Hold Hands, My Pencil and Me, and the Detective Sweet Pea series. Her work has received many accolades—among others, Hold Hands was named a Best Children’s Book of 2019 by the New York Times; Odd Duck was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Children’s Books of 2013; Bake Sale was chosen as a YALSA Great Graphic Novel of 2012; and Robot Dreams was on Oprah’s Kids’ Reading List in 2008. In 2013, Sara was a recipient of the Sendak Fellowship.
saravaron.com

Editorial Reviews

07/06/2020

Varon (Hold Hands) isn’t just the author of this how-to picture book—she’s the protagonist, too, drawing herself as a character who, stumped for a story, takes the advice of her dog, Sweet Pea, and asks her pencil for help. Pencil is a worthy aide (“Aw, forget about the eraser! It doesn’t need to be perfect”), and the protagonist is soon sketching an action-packed baseball tale of friends vs. brightly colored, adorably eclectic monsters. It’s all fun and games—Varon depicts herself as a power hitter—until Pencil insists that “nobody likes a book where everybody gets along” and is accidently snapped in two. The monsters take over the narrative, turn Pencil into a magic bat, and write themselves a massive victory. “Best story ever!” the winners declare, and the powers that be seem to agree: a few pages later, the meta book has a primo spot in a real bookstore window. The creative process—its pains, its joys, and its so-crazy-it-just-might-work moments—has found a thoroughly funny chronicler in Varon. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A Junior Library Guild selection

"The creative process—its pains, its joys, and its so-crazy-it-just-might-work moments—has found a thoroughly funny chronicler in Varon."—Publisher's Weekly

"The publication bit isn’t a given, but her creative process offers a valid model for aspiring visual artists and writers searching for their own styles and stories. There’s something to be gotten from the closing scenes, too, as artist and pencil exchange a high five...and then get back to the drawing board."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2020-06-30
How to create a story…with some help from an anthropomorphic pencil.

In this metafictive picture book, the illustrated version of the actual author/illustrator is stymied—she’s got to start a new book but doesn’t have any ideas. Cleverly opening with three back-to-back double-page spreads that function like a camera zooming out, it shows the metafictive author sitting at her worktable, staring into space. She admits to her dog, Sweet Pea, that she has no ideas. The dog sagely replies, “Why didn’t you just ask your pencil for help?” And, voilà, pencil springs to assistance. With the pencil encouraging her, “You could start by drawing some recent adventures,” the two begin to create their story. That is, until the imaginary characters take over. The book’s design, black-outlined illustrations often within panels and with dialogue bubbles for characters’ speech, has the look of a simple graphic novel. There are cute sight gags, and the dialogue bubbles are lively and often funny. The insertion of narrative conflict (which the pencil says a story needs and Sweet Pea rejects, insisting they’re all friends) is slyly effective. The ending, though, is disappointing, failing to bring the story to a conclusion that is likely to satisfy readers, though the protagonist and Sweet Pea are happy with it. The protagonist has beige skin and brown hair; other human characters are illustrated with both lighter and darker skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 35% of actual size.)

A mostly entertaining romp, but the ending underwhelms. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews