Herriman Elementary

   "Have you ever wanted to write your own book?  Do you think all the good ideas have been used?  Well, let's see what Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman in The Pencil can teach us about expanding an idea with your imagination!"

    This is how I introduced The Pencil to our students.  I read it to first through sixth grades and they all thought it was clever.  When I came to a climatic page, then the students were asked to "predict" what would happen.  The big grins were fun to see when a child guessed correctly---the pencil drew "another eraser".  All ideas were complimented.  It became inter-active for the group and reading The Pencil was enjoyable for all of us.  A quick and engaging read!