Review #84: Chalk

Dad:  Today we bring you "Chalk" by Bill Thomson.
Gracie (age 10):  The book is called "Chalk" because it is about chalk.
Lily (age 7):  Magic chalk.
Gracie:  It's about these three kids -- two girls and one naughty boy.
Elijah (age 5):  No, he's a good boy.
Gracie:  The three kids go to the park on a rainy day.  Their names should be... Ninka, Dinka, and Stinka.  Stinka is the naughty boy.
Elijah:  No!  Good boy!  Good boy!
Isaac (age 12):  At the park they see this dinosaur toy...
Lily:  It is a bouncy one.  A bouncy ride-on dinosaur.
Gracie:  Oh yeah, I love bouncies!  Those toys are the coolest things ever.  Even though we are way too old for them.
Lily:  On the bouncy dinosaur they find a chalk bag.
Isaac:  They think "Ooo - some chalk.  Let's draw some pictures."  The first girl draws a sun, and it turned real in the sky.  And they thought "Awesome!"
Gracie:  The drawing pops up and goes up into the sky and makes a sunny day.
Dad:  So what does that mean?  Are there two suns in the world now?  I suppose it's not supposed to be logical... just fun.
Gracie:  Dad!!!  We are talking about magic chalk!  And you are looking for logical things?
Dad:  Ha ha ha...
Isaac:  Then the second girl picks up some chalk and draws a million butterflies.
Gracie:  Hundreds and millions of butterflies.
Lily:  And the butterflies go up into the sky.  Then the boy - he is sneaky and bad - he is a naughty, naughty boy - he draws a dinosaur.
Gracie:  It comes to life.  And the kids all run away screaming.
Dad:  Do you think the boy knew it would turn dangerous?  Maybe he was just excited to see a dinosaur and didn't think about the repercussions.
Gracie:  But look at his face!
Isaac:  Yeah, he knew what was going to happen... he is a stinker.
Elijah:  No, he's good!  He's good because he saves everyone by drawing water!
Lily:  The boy has an idea.  He is hiding in the tube slide, and he draws a rain cloud.
Gracie:  It's the one smart thing he's ever done.
Lily:  And then it starts raining.  And when you see this part, it's sort of gross... the dinosaur starts melting.
Dad:  Because he's chalk.
Lily:  It's gross.  It reminds me of Wizard of Oz.  Bad guys always get melted because they are terrible and bad.
Gracie:  Bad guys end up as little green pools when they get hit with water.
Dad:  Green guys and water don't mix.  So here's the obvious first question for you: What would you guys draw if you had magic chalk?
Lily:  Puppies!  And dog food.
Elijah:  I would draw a baby.  Then we could have two newborn babies!
Dad:  Wow - you like babies so much that you already want another one?
Elijah:  Yes!  And this one would be a boy.
Isaac:  I would draw a roomful of magic chalk.  I would draw a giant underground room with more magic chalk in it.
Gracie:  I would draw a million dollars!
Dad:  So you would be a counterfeiter, Gracie?
Isaac: (singing)  Gracie's breaking the la-aw, Gracie's breaking the la-aw.
Gracie:  What's a counterfeiter?
Dad:  Someone that makes his own money.
Isaac:  And it's illegal.
Gracie:  Okay then.  I would draw seventy-seven thousand pandas.  Because right now there are not many pandas left in the world.
Dad:  Ah, reversing extinction is a much nobler pursuit than counterfeiting.
Mom: (chiming in)  I would draw a buffet table.  Chinese buffet.  With crab rangoon and cream cheese wontons.
Gracie:  I would draw a chocolate fondue fountain!
Isaac:  NO.  I would draw a giant pig.
Gracie:  What?
Isaac:  It would be the world's biggest pig.
Gracie:  What would you do with the world's biggest pig?
Isaac:  Give it to poor people.  And they can all eat pig and they'd never run out of food.
Dad:  How would you describe the pictures in this book?
Gracie:  Realistic!
Isaac:  They look like photographs.
Gracie:  They almost look like reality.
Dad:  The word for that is "Photorealism."  That's when a painting is so real it looks like a photograph.
Lily:  It helps it make the dinosaur look more scary.  Really really scary.
Isaac:  What are the pictures made with?  It doesn't even look like he used an art utensil.
Dad:  Acrylic paint and colored pencils.  Just like materials we have.
Isaac:  How long do you think it took for him to make this book?
Gracie:  I bet each page took three weeks.
Isaac:  I'd bet a page a month.
Dad:  What else is unique about this book?
Gracie:  There aren't any words, so you get to make up the words.  And that means you get more involved in the story.
Isaac:  He's got to make a sequel.
Lily:  Make a series please.  Then we'll know what's happening with the chalk.  Like if someone else comes over to use the chalk.
Dad:  Right -- at the end of the book the kids leave the chalk behind.
Lily:  That makes me wonder if someone else finds it.
Isaac:  Every kid who reads this book is going to go looking for that chalk.

holding a butterfly, by Lily

dinosaur, by Elijah

chalk dinosaur, by Isaac

dinosaur coming to life, by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: Bill Thomson
Published, 2010: Marshall Cavendish
Like it?  Here it is