Winner of the Younger Children category - Red House Book Award 2009. This book is an hilarious and unmissable treat! One day there is just a lonely pencil…It begins to draw – a boy, a dog, a cat and then a house and streets for them to play in. But everyone wants something more. They all wants names and then they all want food. The pencil draws food but it is only in black and white. The boy and the dog and the cat want food they can eat…So, the pencil draws a paintbrush. Soon the food is delicious and there is more and more action. But then things begin to go wrong and everyone wants to be different. The pencil draws a rubber so that there can be changes…But, can the pencil survive against the rubber? Luckily, it does and all is well in the drawn world again. Both the visual and the verbal jokes are simple but very effective and the cumulative impact is fantastic.
The acclaimed duo behind The Runaway Dinner and Previously imagine the comical world that comes to life when a pencil starts to draw…
"A hilarious and utterly enchanting new classic" TheTimes
A special 10th anniversary edition of a modern classic, The Pencil is a playful, witty, wonderfully quirky story about the power of imagination. Say hi to Banjo! Once a pencil draws him, there's no telling what will come next - a dog, a cat, a chase (of course), and a paintbrush to colour in an ever-expanding group of family and friends. But it's not long before the complaints begin - "This hat looks silly!" "My ears are too big!" - until the poor pencil has no choice but to draw … a rubber. Oh no! In the hands of Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman, can anything but havoc and hilarity ensue? With gorgeous golden foil on the cover and spine, this edition is one to share and treasure.
As a child Allan was born in Croydon, but grew up in Oldbury in the Black Country. He says that if he hadn't grown up to be a writer, he would have loved to have been a soccer player.
As an adult Allan always dreamed of being a writer, but tried his hand at many other jobs before he achieved his ambition. He was a postman, grave-digger, plumber's mate and teacher - it was teaching that gave him such sharp insights into the minds of children, and enabled him to write his perfectly observed poetry about primary school life
As an artist Allan has collaborated with many illustrators, including Andre Amstutz, Gillian Tyler and Katharine McEwen, as well as his late wife, Janet Ahlberg (nee Hall) and his daughter Jessica Ahlberg. He has won numerous awards for his books including, the Kurt Maschler Award in 1986, The Children's Book Award in 1987, the Blue Peter Book Award 2001, and The Children's Book Award: Books for Young Children award 2002.
You can see Allan reading from Peepo! in this video:
