Praise for Pencil: A Story with a Point
2021 FAME Sunshine State Young Readers Award Jr. shortlist
2020 Bank Street Best Book selection
2023 Children’s Book Council Spring Showcase: Spring Into a New You Selection
★ STARRED REVIEW "Office supplies have never been more entertaining than they are in this punny tale of friendship and ingenuity."—Foreword Reviews Starred Review
"The illustrations feature expressive, googly-eyed implements and realistic children and animals...An overload of fun puns will have many readers giggling through to the openly sweet moral at the end."—Kirkus Reviews
"Pencil: A Story with a Point is great fun. Every librarian should make it a point to order this delightful book."—NY Journal of Books
"What will it take for Pencil to make his mark and win his way back into Jackson's heart? Dean Griffiths' digitally rendered cartoon illustrations featuring animated school supplies complement Ann Ingalls' clever, pun-filled story which has a point to make: New tools are not always better than old ones."—ILA Literacy Daily, "Back-to-School Stories"
"Rating: E...Through the use of personification, Ann Ingalls has created an entertaining and engaging book that is carefree, engaging and certainly a winner for young readers to enjoy....Dean Griffiths' vibrant illustrations are cheerful, bright, and add to the humour in the story....Pencil: A Story With a Point is a perfect story to have readers enjoying a big belly laugh! Libraries and classrooms will certainly be filled with giggling children when this book is read during story-time read-alouds."—Resource Links
"Veteran author Ann Ingalls has produced a book with...much lighthearted play with language that will delight younger readers just learning about verbal humour as well as teachers who could use this book as a lesson on the pun as literary device....[Dean Griffiths] has filled the pages of Pencil with familiar objects which are candy-colourful and plastic in their contours, as well as expressive images of the two dark-eyed, dark-haired children..."—CM Magazine
"Rating: 5...[Reading Pencil] would be a great way to introduce a craft project."—Youth Services Book Review
"Pencil: A Story with a Point celebrates imagination, friendship, and working together....The text is clever with kid-friendly puns throughout. The graphics are eye-catching and colorful, making this a great book for children ages three to eight. For adults, this book prompts conversation about technology and its role in children's lives."—Children's Book & Media Review
"Pencil is playful with language and we never got tired of the puns...And while this indeed a pencil versus tablet story for our screen saturated age, it's also more interesting than just that...[A] warm and humorous book which demonstrates that a story with a point is not necessarily a bad thing. It's all in the delivery, and this one is done right."—Pickle Me This
"Humorous, pun-filled text along with terrific artwork will make this a fun book to share with young children."—Jana the Teacher
"The conversational puns...will have readers giggling and trying their hand at creating some of their own...The colorful, expressive digital art is humorous in all the right places."—Sal's Fiction Addiction
2018-11-21
Move over, Pencil; Tablet's in town…but what happens when Tablet breaks?
Jackson has a special relationship with Pencil. If Pencil isn't tucked behind his ear, Pencil is in Jackson's hand. "They scribbled and sketched.…They had loads of fun until… // …Tablet moved in." Tablet makes Pencil feel "like #2." Pencil's fate gets worse and worse. He is dropped on the floor, chewed by the dog, and ends up in the junk drawer, where Scissors and Ruler treat him roughly. But then Jackson's older sister, Jasmine, notices Pencil in the drawer and sticks him behind her ear. Pencil is elated—though he still endures snide remarks from Tablet. When Tablet falls to the floor and breaks, Jackson is inconsolable. Pencil tries desperately to cheer Jackson up, but nothing works…until he enlists his old companions from the drawer, Scissors, Paper Clip, Flashlight, Tape, and the rest. Jackson finally smiles again, and all the supplies end as friends, with pages full of puns. Pencil concludes, "I'll be drawing on your friendship…and after all, that really is the point!" The illustrations feature expressive, googly-eyed implements and realistic children and animals interacting against a white background. Jackson and Jasmine are black, and Jasmine has voluminous natural hair.
An overload of fun puns will have many readers giggling through to the openly sweet moral at the end. (Picture book. 4-8)
