Chalk

Chalk is written by Bill Thomson and is a selection from the Notable Books for Children's List.

 

 

Chalk is a super fun book to "read" that uses oodles of imagination.  It is a wordless book that really does not need words as the story leaps off the pages at you from the cover to the end.  Three children are walking in a rain shower to the park and discover a bag of chalk.  Little do they know that the chalk is magical and as they begin to draw, they find what they have created becomes reality.  The sun that is drawn rises and dries up the rain, and the butterflies also rise up from the pavement and fly away.  When the third child draws a dinoasur, it too rises up and starts to chase the kids who run into the playground equipment to escape.  The disosaur artist quickly draws a rain shower and the dinosaur melts away leaving nothing but a chalk memory and green puddle.  The children decide to leave the magical chalk behind as they leave the park for some other children to discover.  This book instantly reminded me of the times when my own children would play with sidewalk chalk for hours and create all kinds of materpieces that also became memories and colorful puddles so they could start all over again on their concrete canvases.  The illustrations are so well painted and bring such life to the storywit their close-ups and illumination.  A very enjoyable book to "read"!

Thomson, B. (2010). Chalk . New York: Marshall Cavendish Children.