Sometimes a book gets lost in my queue, surfaces late in the year, and then quickly gets shoehorned into my PPBF line-up. Such is the case with PENCIL, a marvelously-illustrated, wordless picture book. I don’t know if it was the author-illustrator’s idea or the publisher’s, but I appreciate that they included suggestions on how to read a “silent” book.
The word “silent.” Hm. Take a moment (perhaps a few moments) to think about their word choice. The instructions ask you to create a quiet space and then go through the book without talking for the very first read. Let the child(ren) turn the pages in silence when they’re ready.
For those used to noisy read alouds or at least filling the room up with explanations about what’s being viewed in a wordless picture book, this first pass could be a bit unnerving—and exciting! How will kids respond to the images? Maybe they will want to go through it again in silence. Maybe they will eager to discuss what they’ve “read” in the pictures. Whatever the case, be sure to take your time. This book is a memorable experience. Here’s the first page.
What is this?! A pencil being sharpened? What do those pencil shavings look like? Feathers? Leaves? Teardrops?
The pencil can no longer be seen, but we know it’s above the page, still being sharpened. What’s happening at the bottom? And are those shavings starting to look like something else?
The answer is yes, those shavings are starting to look like a plant. And on the next page turn, we’ll see that plant and a final trickle of pencil shavings falling. What are we to make of this?
Page turn. Here is our answer.
A forest! One that grows and grows and grows to fill the pages over the next three spreads. And with that lovely forest come a host of animals—birds, dear, foxes, and more.
But suddenly the birds scatter to the sky as the trees appear to be blown by a fierce wind. But it’s not a natural wind. Is it a visual representation of harsh, loud sound?
Yes, the trees are being harvested, leaving nothing but stumps. A soot-spewing truck carts them away to a polluted city and a factory. A factory that makes—
Pencils! Pencils of many colors that are destined to line a beautiful art supply shop…where a little girl is shopping. She selects a green pencil while she stands right next to a canvas showing the forest that was cut down to make pencils. The little girl takes her pencil to the stump-filled forest and begins to draw trunks and tree limbs above the stumps, making new trees. She draws and draws, as animals cluster nearby watching. When she’s completely redrawn the forest, it fills with animals.
How does it end? I’m not going to tell you! But it’s brilliant.
What can this all mean? Did the child draw this story? Does the child somehow redeem human consumption in the end? How can that pencil in my hand suddenly feel like a treasure and a curse at the same time? Art is beautiful! But the materials we use to make art must come from somewhere, right?
This book is sure to foster deep conversations with older readers, and perhaps with younger ones, as well. Maybe we should use paper and pencils conscientiously, so we’re not wasting resources. What about every material item we buy or make? Should we reduce what we consume in general? There’s so much food for thought in these pages.
Kim’s finely drawn illustrations in pencil and marker are printed using soy-based ink on acid-free, wood-free paper. A perfect touch. Highly recommended!
Activities:
Think of ways you can reduce waste when it comes to paper, pencils, and other art supplies. How can you reduce other kinds of waste (including food) at your school or at home?
If your community has a tree-planting or habitat restoration program, organize a school volunteer day to work on a planting or restoration project.
Make your own book, using this video from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum as a guide. Then draw your own wordless story inspired by PENCIL. Maybe you could draw it from the pencil’s point of view. Or maybe the tree’s point of view. Or one of the animals. You decide!
Title: Pencil
Author/Illustrator: Hye-Eun Kim
Publisher: Toon Books (Astra Books for Young Readers), 2025
Themes: trees, consumerism, art
Ages: pre-K to adult
QUICK REMINDER: Time is running out to preorder THE OCEAN’S HEART (official release date is March 3!) and get three raffle tickets you can put toward 1, 2, or 3 out of 7 awesome prizes. Click here to see my previous post for details. Just let me know you’ve preordered and where you’d like to place your tickets!
For more perfect picture book recommendations, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.
This book sounds really cool! And so are the activities you suggested.
Thanks, Teresa! And to think it’s just her first picture book!
How clever!!
Yes, and I didn’t want to give away the ending! Hope you can find a copy, or suggest that your library carry it!
I love the imagination and creativity of this book.
Yes, it’s really well done. I think kids will respond to it by coming up with their own interpretations and ideas for creating their own wordless stories.
I love this book! It was one that I thought might have received more attention in the ALAs but evidently it wasn’t eligible for Caldecott consideration. Some wordless (silent) books are uncomfortable for me and now that I’m sharing them one-on-one, it’s interesting to see how they’re received by a newly fluent reader. This one was enjoyed by both of us. The storytelling was strong.
I can see how this would be fun for emergent readers to continue to practice their visual literacy skills as well. And I can also see how this story’s execution would be quite engaging, because there’s so much that lies underneath the surface.
What a gorgeous book! Looking forward to reading it (in silence). Thanks for sharing!
Ha! Yes, sharing in silence. Their suggested steps for reading this book is truly a thoughtful approach, one that will help readers savor the story.
Oh me oh me oh mi! I must read this! Gorgeous! Thanks, Jilanne!!
I thought this might be right up your alley! Enjoy!