The illustrations are vibrant and fun, and I'm a sucker for books that give you scientific and historical context at the same time.

Well done children's book that brings to life one of the pioneers in the world of crayons. The story brings to life the cousins who worked to perfect a new wax crayon--the Crayola, made by Binny and Smith-- and sell it to children The last part of the book illustrates how Crayola crayons are made. Many good references at the end for further reading. Read out of interest in my own family who built The American Crayon Company and were rivals of Binny and Smith. ( )

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). ( )

Take some time to learn about the inspiring story of Edwin Binney. He was the amazing inventor of one of the world's most loved toys... Crayola Crayons!

Edwin Binney, inventor, and the creator of Crayola crayons was in the business of producing carbon black, a new kind of pigment. Edwin had invented a new inexpensive slate gray, smooth writing pencil, a white chalk that was dusty and didn’t crumble and a black wax crayon that could write on wood and paper packaging. His wife, Alice, encourage him to invent a better, cheaper colored crayon for children he began. The experimentation with color and wax brought him to the first 8 pack, non toxic crayon that we know today. The name Crayola was also suggested by his wife, Alice from the French words, craie for stick of chalk, and oleaginous, meaning oily in texture became the word Crayola.
In the back of the book there are pictures from the factory and explanations as to how the crayons are made today. ( )