• Read Out Loud

Read Out Loud THE CRAYON MAN

Add some color to your day! On this episode of Read Out Loud, join Natascha Biebow as she tells the inspiring, true story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of Crayola crayons, in THE CRAYON MAN! 

THE CRAYON MAN, winner of the Bank Street Irma Black Award
for Excellence in Children’s Literature!

ABOUT the Book

Celebrating the inventor of the Crayola crayon! This gloriously illustrated picture book biography tells the inspiring story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of one of the world’s most beloved toys. A perfect fit among favorites like The Day the Crayons Quit and Balloons Over Broadway.
Purple mountains’ majesty, mauvelous, jungle green, razzmatazz…what child doesn’t love to hold a crayon in their hands? But children didn’t always have such magical boxes of crayons. Before Edwin Binney set out to change things, children couldn’t really even draw in color.

Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to children – in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world’s most enduring, best-loved childhood toys – empowering children to dream in COLOR!

Natascha Biebow (author) Steven Salerno (Illustrator)

DOWNLOAD these FREE activities and coloring sheets!

ABOUT Natascha Biebow

I don’t go anywhere without a book (or usually books), in my purse, in my backpack, tucked in the crook of my arm – IN CASE. Here’s a secret: my greatest fear is being stranded somewhere without a book . . . I was the kind of child who read everything – my dad’s newspaper, the cereal box, the signs on the street.
I was born in Johannesburg and grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I went to the American school. The kids who went there were from all over the world!
Most of the books I owned when I was growing up were sent to me for birthdays and Christmases by my grandmother, Granelly, who lived in England. These were treasures that I read up in the bougainvillea tree, where I had a secret perch and no one would disturb me for hours. I woke up early, and read until my family finally got out of bed. I made my mom read The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen over and over again – it made me cry, it was so beautiful. I loved Judy Blume’s Fudge series, Julie of the Wolves, the Narnia books and lots of horse books, including Black Beauty and Misty of Chincoteague. Now, I love to read picture books with my son (and the dog!).

ABOUT Steven Salerno

New York City-based illustrator, children’s book author/illustrator, and character designer, Steven Salerno creates striking illustrations for a wide range of editorial and advertising clients. His style flexes between the graphically simple and whimsical, to more realistic, richly textured images, with some having a retro feel. Over his long independent graphics career, he has created thousands of published illustrations for a list of nearly 600 clients for use in print & web advertising, magazines, newspapers, product packaging, picture books, corporate publications, and retail graphics.

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