The Crayon Man is about the history of Crayola. I learned a lot from this book. It’s beautifully illustrated and educational. It is one of the denser picture books I’ve read this year (there’s a lot of information!) I highly recommend reading this with or to some of your older kiddos.

Edwin Binney created many things, including a gray slate pencil for kids to use at school. His wife, Alice said that kids needed more. Edwin decided to use paraffin wax to make strong crayons. He used rocks and minerals to create the colors to make crayons (a name Alice came up with). Soon he had 8 colors to sell to the kids. Lots of back matter included.

Colorful, fun illustrations tell how Edwin Binney created a team to invent crayons at the behest of his wife Alice. Fun facts about crayons today at the back of the book. Over 8,333 crayons are made a minute - more tan 120 different colors.

A wonderful biography about the invention of crayons. I'm hoping to use this book for a program highlighting inventors in May.

Of course, this book immediately made me remember the infamous Mister Rogers video about how crayons are made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FszGkMqAF0c

It also gave me a sudden sense memory of opening a new box of crayons. Their smell and their sharp points! This is a fun picture-book biography of Edwin Binney, who invented the first child-friendly and mass-producible crayons we still know as Crayola. I loved the details about how he listened to his wife's advice (which was always good advice) and tried different approaches with the help of a team.

Backmatter is impressive: a set of step-by-step photos from the Crayola factory in Easton, PA; a short bio of Edwin Binney; and a selected bibliography *with primary and secondary sources* AND the very Mister Rogers video I was remembering!!

Colorful, expressive llustrations by Steven Salerno are "done in charcoal crayon, gouache, and digital color."

Great bio! Good for a read-aloud even for younger kids. It's hard for me to imagine a time when kids couldn't draw in color. Made me want to get my crayons out and draw something bright. How grateful I am to the inventor of the tools for so much cherished refrigerator artwork, and the first stepping stone in the journey of budding artists!

The mustaches portrayed in this story are truly spectacular.

Facial hair aside though, I learned a lot about the history of the Crayola crayon and the man who created them in the early twentieth century. Basically, this book fills in the gap between one-room schoolhouses using slate pencils and chalk, and hoards of kindergarteners with crayoned masterpieces. We meet Edwin Binney as a businessman, get a sense of what inspired him to create those glorious crayons, and find out that his wife also played a role including suggesting the name Crayola in the first place. I was happy to find out that Crayola wasn't a person's name, but instead a mix of words that basically means oily chalk.

The illustrations have a strong [a:Robert McCloskey|14635|Robert McCloskey|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201020229p2/14635.jpg] vibe, which does a great job at setting the time period. They also remind me of [a:Vera Neville|2830639|Vera Neville|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]'s Betsy-Tacy illustrations and [a:Louis Darling|470404|Louis Darling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296333607p2/470404.jpg]'s Ramona illustrations. Basically, the pictures are packed with nostalgia. The use of color is - as it should be - spectacular.

I was also highly amused at the inclusion of the 90th anniversary color naming contest... because I remember that! I think I even have one of the reproduction original 8-packs of crayons.

My six-year-old was engaged throughout the story, hooked on the inventing process and the colors that were created. When we reached the backmatter he was uninterested, but it greatly impressed me. Besides a bibliography and a one-page overview of more of Binney's life, there is a two-page spread of how Crayola Crayons are made today. The whole package was a nice combination of story, current production information, and resources.

Oh my goodness! I have read so many fantastic biography picture books this year. This is another one to add to the group. It was well written. Adding this one to both STEAM collection and biography.

When Crayola Crayons are made down the street from your house, you have to read this book! Great book for kids, but informative enough for adults. Fun history lesson on the invention of crayons.

The Crayon Man: the True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow
Enjoyed this read about how crayons came to be. I do remember the thick ones we used, trying to hold them in our tiny hands and actually using them.
I have two sets of 8 colors only in my arsenal for when I am designing some colorwork for knitting items. Get out my graph paper with the grid lines and magic happens.
Such a fascinating read.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).